


Chant Me to Sleep

by artisticNutcase



Series: Night Vale Stories [1]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Big Rico's Pizza, Blushing, Cell Phones, Embarrassment, Fluff, Food, Insecurity, Kissing, Love, M/M, OC Intern (very minor), Science (kinda), Sleepovers, Worry, chanting, laboratory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-18
Updated: 2013-08-23
Packaged: 2017-12-23 20:59:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/931040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artisticNutcase/pseuds/artisticNutcase
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With Cecil's apartment completely covered in mysterious black substance, Carlos asks him to stay over at his place, instead.</p><p>Carlos has yet to learn some things about Night Vale customs and Cecil is stuck wanting to move the relationship forward faster than it is going. It is up to the scientist to get rid off the substance.</p><p>Fluff, Goo, Food, blushing and much more!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Black Goo and Chanting

“And now, dear listeners...”

_Bzzz Bzzz_

“... interesting news from City Council as...”

_Bzzz Bzzz_

“...I mean after the weather.”

Cecil leaned back in his comfortable chair after pushing a button to send the audience straight to the weather. He took off his large headphones from which he could hear the music and grabbed his cellphone off the desk from beside his purple coffee mug. The small device continued buzzing and vibrating in the radio host's hand and its screen read 'CARLOS' in bold letters above a photo of the town's scientist. 

Cecil was nervous, his palms sweaty and a blush on his cheeks. Carlos hardly ever called him during on air-time and when he called once in a while he gave up after a few buzzes, this time, though he had been trying for over five minutes to reach the blonde man in the radio booth. The latter pushed the call answering button with a sheepish smile. “Hello?” He said as if he did not know it was Carlos calling him.

“Oh, Cecil, I'm glad I could reach you. Sorry that I'm calling at time like this, I know you're busy.” The scientist seemed bothered by something.

“It's no problem, Carlos, never a problem, you can call me whenever, night and day and all the time.” Cecil's heart was racing, but he tried playing it cool. Only because they had been on one or another date did not mean Cecil had to talk like the giddy schoolgirl that he felt like. “So, what's up? Any new scientific discoveries that demand Night Vale's attention?”

“No, actually, it's not something that concerns the entire city. Maybe a part of it, but certainly not everyone... yet. I just thought I should tell you and I feel like this couldn't wait until after the broadcast.”

Cecil's heart sped up even more. “Y-yes?” He stammered and blushed. What was the perfect, precious Carlos going to say? What was that important?

“I was passing by your house on my way to run errands and I noticed black goo leaking out of every window of the entire apartment building. It's slowly starting to cover the street and my devices go crazy when I bring them anywhere near the substance. I can't tell what happens to the things it covers and trying to take a sample resulted in said sample simply vanishing into thin air.” Carlos sounded excited and scared at the same time.

“Oh.” The radio spokesman responded with disappointment. Carlos should have said that he was not calling for personal matters in the first place.

“Oh?” The scientist was surprised. “Aren't you shocked? Is this goo normal?”

Cecil shook his head as if the other person on the phone could see it. He glanced at a small screen and saw that he still had some time left until the weather broadcast ended. “No, no. The building doesn't usually do that. It's probably not as bad as you think, Carlos. You can't do anything about it?” 

“No, without being able to use my devices or getting a sample my hands are tied. I'll work on a solution, though.” His voice showed confidence and ambition.

The blonde man smiled. He loved it when Carlos found something to do his science on. He always seemed so happy when he had something like that to do. “Alright, I'll entrust the matter into your hands. I'll talk to you later, then.” 

“Wait!” Carlos yelled, hindering Cecil from pressing the button to end the call.

“What is it? Any other matters?” 

“No, it's still about this substance. It doesn't seem like it's gonna leave any time soon. But your show won't last that much longer and you have to go somewhere. I...” He hesitated. “I don't want you trying to enter through that thing, it might kill you.”

Cecil blushed some more. “Don't worry, I have my wallet, I can stay at an inn until it's over.”

“Well, you could, but it would be stupid if you had to spend money on a shelter. Also there's costs for food and maybe you need another set of clothing. Who knows how long this is gonna last?” 

“It's okay, Carlos. I have enough on me to survive for some time. Unless you have any... better ideas?” Perfect Carlos was intelligent and he had great ideas all the time.

“I was thinking you could stay over at my place.” He stopped for a moment and it sounded like he was nervous. “At least for tonight. You wouldn't have to pay and I'd know that you're safe.”

Cecil believed that his heart had stopped. His entire face was bright red and he was staring blankly at the desk in front of him. “Yes!” He suddenly yelled and then covered his mouth with his hand and glanced at the door of the booth. Nothing happened, apparently the yell went unnoticed. Cecil calmed himself down, as much as he could. The time of the weather was almost up. “Yes, I'd love to stay over. Thank you very much, Carlos.” 

“Great!” The voice on the other end held happiness. “Just come over whenever you're done over there. I'll make sure to pick up some groceries on my way back.”

“Yes, sure, I'll be there, I promise.” Cecil had to force himself not to scream in joy. “Don't take the subway.”

“Of course not.” Carlos was not taking a risk at mysteriously disappearing. “Oh, I have to go the substance just swallowed a passing dog. See you later.” 

“Bye, Carlos.” Both of then hung up just in time for Cecil to return to the broadcast.

“And that concludes today's weather. Before I move on to the news about City Council, I have to tell you about this, listeners. Guess who just called!”

 

~ o O o ~

 

After several attempts of tugging the dog out of the black goo using rope among other utensils and even more attempts to find the dog using all sorts of tools, Carlos admitted defeat for the moment and decided that he was going to think up more ways back in his lab using simulations and the likes. He could think in peace in that place and figure out what to do. He sighed and looked at the slowly enlarging mass of black substance. If he could not remove it at the moment, it had to be contained, at least.

As he was about to make a suggestion to some citizens that were observing the unknown goo, a bunch of men wearing short capes, blowdart chestbelts and tight leather balaclavas appeared and told everyone to leave the scene, Carlos included. The scientist tried to complain and explain that he could find a solution, but it was no use, they did not listen. Were those men perhaps the Sheriff's Secret Police? Why were they interested in this occurrence? 

Carlos had to realize that the situation was hopeless and that there was no way for him to do anything with or to the substance until he had a solid solution. And chances were that they would not listen, even if he had a solution. The scientist sighed and looked at his Night Vale watch. He was wearing two watches in total, one he had purchased way before his move to Night Vale, which was still set to the 'normal' time and another which he had bought in Night Vale and worked the same way all of the other clocks seemed to work. That way was still strange and ominous to Carlos. 

Reading the time on the watch, the man gasped in surprise and immediately made a turn and began to run. The attempts to find the dog had taken longer than anticipated and time had flown by. Cecil was going to arrive at his home any minute and he would be devastated to find the place deserted. There was no time to shop for groceries, he had to go straight home if he wanted to be on time.  
'And Cecil insists that I'm the most reliable person he knows.' Carlos thought and shook his head in shame of his own carelessness.

The man in the lab coat turned the corner and observed the familiar car of the radio host park outside the building. Carlos sprinted the remaining distance and appeared at the car just in time to hold open the door for his guest. 

Cecil looked up from the driver's seat in surprise as he pulled the handbrake and pulled the keys out. “Carlos? Were you standing there before?” He asked with that smooth voice of his. 

The brown haired man was still panting from the unexpected jogging exercise and shook his head. “No, I arrived only now.” He held out a hand which Cecil took, blushing and stepping out of the car. “I forgot the time as I tried to get the dog out of the substance. I didn't even get to go shopping, anymore.” He closed the door and Cecil locked it. His hand was still held by the scientist's.

“You're simply too good-hearted to let a dog in an unknown substance be. Well, you can always go tomorrow instead.” They walked to the door that Cecil had watched Carlos vanish into after their first date. Many other dates have passed since then, but the invitation to come inside had yet to be made. The radio host was nervous and excited and curious. He had imagined what the inside of this place would look like, but he had never received confirmation.

Carlos blushed very slightly upon hearing the other's compliment and smiled. Carlos unlocked the door and let himself and Cecil in before closing and locking it from the inside. They were standing in a small hallway with one door and a stairwell. The scientist showed the way by walking upstairs and looking at Cecil with an expectant gaze until the blonde haired man finally followed. They entered the actual apartment.

It looked much different from the spokesman's imagination, but he supposed it made sense. 

“Well, this is it.” Carlos declared as they entered the living room and Cecil looked around. “Make yourself at home.” He observed the blonde as he walked around and examined the inside of the house carefully. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Oh, no, that's not necessary. I had plenty at the station.” Cecil turned to the brown haired man. “I'd appreciate knowing the location of the bathroom, though.”

“Sure, it's down the hallway to the right.” Carlos watched Cecil nod with a smile and leave the room into the hallway. The scientist then took his outdoor shoes off and put on a pair of slippers. He took out another pair for Cecil, glad to have bought a set of guest indoor shoes, after all. He then went over to the comfortable sofa and with a few movements turned it into a bed. Sofa beds were a smart invention. 

Cecil returned. “What are you doing?” He asked before realizing that Carlos had taken off his shoes and deciding to do the same. 

“I'm getting the couch ready to be slept on.” The scientist answered as he turned to his guest, content with his work. “It only needs bedding, I'll get that in a minute.” 

The radio host frowned in disappointment. “You want me to sleep on the couch?” He asked. He was not hurt, it made sense for him to sleep on the couch. He was a guest, after all. But given that he had been on a number of dates with his host he had hoped for more intimacy on this sleepover.

Carlos tilted his head in confusion, he did not understand Cecil's sudden sadness. “I can sleep on the couch, too, I don't mind. You would be more comfortable in the bed, anyway.” He smiled, hoping to have fixed whatever mistake he had made.

“Sure, whatever you want.” Cecil looked down at the floor and his feet.

That moment a switch in the scientist's mind turned on and he understood what happened. He walked over to his guest and took his hand. “Cecil...” The radio host looked at him. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You have to understand that I'm not keeping this distance because I don't want to be with you.”

Cecil blushed.

“I just don't want to rush anything.” It was true. Carlos was afraid of rushing into a serious and intimate relationship with Cecil without them knowing each other well enough. He had enjoyed every date and every moment he had ever spent with the blonde, but they had not even established what type of relationship they have. No one had asked to go steady, no one had called each other boyfriend. So far they were only seeing each other every now and then and if he was gonna spend the night with Cecil, even if it was just cuddling, he was going to do it with his boyfriend.

The radio host nodded. “I understand.” He muttered and then smiled at Carlos. His Carlos.

Carlos smiled as well in return and planted a soft kiss onto the smaller man's lips. Their glasses met each other with a quiet noise. Cecil blushed and giggled like a little schoolgirl after her first kiss. Carlos considered this to be endearing and it made him kiss his guest once more.

 

~ o O o ~

“I think this one might fit.”

Carlos tossed Cecil a pajama set. It was purple, much to Cecil's delight. “I like it, did you wear it?”

“Well, it _is_ my clothing, so yes. I've worn it a few times. It's probably going to be a bit too large on you, but it should do for tonight.” He walked to the door. “I'm going to let you change in peace.” Before Cecil could object or ask his host to stay, Carlos had closed the door behind himself. Sure, he would not mind seeing Cecil's naked body. Even that was an understatement. He would love to see it. But his promise to himself of taking things slowly forbade him the view.

He sat on the couch instead. He had brought proper bedding over from the bedroom earlier after taking a quick shower as Cecil listened to the supposedly hypnotizing sounds of trees on the radio. Carlos still did not understand how anyone in Night Vale would listen to anything that followed Cecil's show. He had checked the program out a few times and considered it to be nerve wrecking or pointless almost every time.

The bedroom door opened and Cecil stepped out. He was wearing the purple pajamas and they were too big on him. “How do I look?” He asked with a smile and spun around to present himself to the taller man, who watched him happily.

'Incredibly cute.' Carlos thought, but decided on wording it differently. “Smashing as always.” 

These words sent the radio host into another fit of giggling. His cool and calm attitude that he presented to his listeners on the radio most of the time had only left a few traces when he was around Carlos. He walked over to the sofa and sat on the brown haired man's lap. Said brown haired man accepted his guest on his lap and wrapped his arms around the other's body. 

A few kisses were exchanged. Sides were rubbed, hair was played with and eventually Cecil was busy having his mouth on Carlos's neck, sucking and kissing and making sure to leave a mark that showed his claim on the scientist so that no other in Night Vale would get any ideas. Especially not that rotten Steve Carlsberg. How Cecil hated that guy.

“We should go to bed.” Carlos mumbled, afraid of breaking his promise of taking it slow, but enjoying the attention that was given to his neck very much. His face was red and he was nearly panting. 

Cecil leaned back. “You're right.” He said, much to the other's surprise. “I have to be at the station in the morning to get some things done. But before we sleep, we still have to fill out the necessary forms. I picked them up on my way here and I'm gonna bring them back on my way to the station tomorrow.” 

“Where did you put them?” Carlos asked as he looked and examined Cecil's face.

After a moment of thinking, the spokesman raised his voice. “I think I left them in the car. I'll go get them.” He got off the scientist's lap and walked over to the door. He took his car keys and Carlos's house keys. “Don't go anywhere.” He said in a suggestive voice and left.

 

~ o O o ~

 

Filling out the sleepover forms proved to be much harder than expected. There was one double-sided sheet for each of them and then two other sheets that they had to fill out together. Carlos had to ask about several things before writing anything down. With the ban on pens, the both of them used small stamps shaped like letters and an ink pad. It was far more work that simply writing it down, but with the Sheriff's Secret Police around at all times, using actual pens was too dangerous.

“What are you writing as purpose?” Carlos glanced over at Cecil's sheet.

“I think I will simply write 'shelter'. I do not know how to answer to the question of how long it will take, though.” He hesitated and squinted at the sheet as if the words would suddenly appear on their own if he did that. 

“I doubt it will be gone by tomorrow. It looked very serious. Maybe we should write down two nights in advance. You can stay here another night, even if the substance has suddenly ceased existing and you said there were extension forms, right?” Carlos stamped a few more words onto the paper.

“Right. A perfect suggestion from a perfect scientist.” Cecil blushed as he paid the other man a compliment.

It took very long, but after many bizarre and personal questions, various misunderstandings and a lot of confusion, the paperwork was done and the forms were ready to be returned. Carlos put them on the coffee table next to the sets of keys so they would not be forgotten. He helped Cecil up and brought the ink pad and letter stamps away. 

The two men then stood in front of each other, both of them wearing a tired, but happy smile. “Well, goodnight, Cecil.” Carlos smiled and was about to peck the other's cheek when a hand on his mouth stopped him

“What are you doing?” Cecil asked and tilted his head.

“I'm... wishing you a good night.” There was a questioning tone in the scientist's voice as he did not understand what he had done wrong.

“Without doing the proper bedtime chanting?”

Carlos's face showed utter confusion.

Cecil sighed. “Don't tell me you have been living in Night Vale for this long without doing your bedtime chanting each day.”

“Well...” Carlos started, but he did not need to continue for the radio host to understand the situation.

“I don't believe it! You don't even know the bedtime chants, do you?” Without waiting for an answer he continued. “The bedtime chants are performed before saying goodnight and going to bed. You must do them every night. It is city policy and it keeps away the terrible nightmares of the void.”

“I have not dreamed of the void, yet. And we have said goodnight to each other plenty of times without chanting. You say goodnight on your show without chanting.” Carlos raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, but this is different. The chanting is performed only directly before going to bed and must be said before wishing each other a good night, but only if the other person is in the same apartment or house as you.” Cecil explained.

“Those are some strict chanting rules.” Carlos stated.

Cecil shook his head. “It's all very reasonable. But let's not waste any more time now. Tomorrow, I'll make sure to teach you the proper chants, you probably don't do the morning one, either. For tonight, I will chant and you just try to follow my lead.”

The scientist nodded.

Cecil's smooth and warm voice sounded through the room as he began to chant. He chanted in tongues and languages that Carlos had never heard before and did not understand. His voice sounded familiar, but also very strange and unlike him. His eyes were closed and he was focusing on chanting. The brown haired man understood tones and at one point he even managed to hear something like a melody in the chants. He tried desperately to do something similar to Cecil, to join in and follow his lead as he was told to. But it was too difficult. He did not understand the chanting, did not know the chanting and it was so strange and alien to him. But in some way it was calming and making him feel fulfilled. The way Cecil was doing it was making him content and forget any worry that might have remained in his head.

After a while Cecil finished. He opened his eyes and looked at Carlos. “We will have to work on that.”

Carlos blushed in embarrassment as Cecil had noticed how terrible he was. 

“Goodnight, my sweet Carlos.”

“Goodnight, Cecil.” 

They shared a soft kiss before Cecil left to the bedroom and both of them went to their individual beds. They both thought about each other until finally drifting into a calm sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first Welcome to Night Vale fic! (Finally~)
> 
> Comments are appreciated!


	2. Substance and Nourishment

Carlos slept peacefully and woke up when his alarm clock rang. The man groaned in annoyance at the aggravating sound, reached out with one arm arm and pushed he snooze button. He opened his eyes for a second to check the time, but he could not read it without his glasses and closed his eyes again, too lazy to look for them. 

His eyesight was just good enough to recognize Cecil's arm in front of him and the man it belonged to on top of him. Carlos smiled and nuzzled the radio host before his eyes shot open in shock and he stared at the blonde. He recalled Cecil entering his bedroom to go to sleep. 

The scientist blushed as he examined the person on top of him. Cecil had taken off his glasses to sleep and his face showed contentedness and calmness. Carlos leaned in. He felt compelled to steal just one short tiny kiss, before the other woke up. He leaned in some more. His lips almost brushed his guest's.

_BEEP BEEP BEEP_

But it was not supposed to happen. In time with the loud obnoxious beeping of the alarm clock awakening from snooze mode, Cecil opened his eyes and Carlos immediately ceased every attempt to kiss him and turned the alarm off once and for all. He was awake.

Cecil looked down at the brown haired man and smiled sheepishly before pecking his lips and rolling off of him without a word.

“Cecil, why-”

Carlos found an index finger on his lips to silence him and he watched Cecil stand up and heard him starting to chant again. This had to be the morning chants the radio host had spoken about the night before. And it seemed like speaking before them was forbidden. Carlos sat up on the couch. He took his glasses and put them on. Then he observed his guest with a soft smile. The chanting still sounded nice and calming, but while the night chant was silent and calm, the morning one was louder and more powerful. It did not last as long, though.

Once done, Cecil spun around to smile at the sitting Carlos. “Good morning, Carlos! How did you sleep? No nightmares, I presume?”

Carlos got up from the couch. “No, none at all. But Cecil-”

“Excellent. I have to go to the station soon, but when I get back I will teach you chanting correctly. It has many uses and it is city policy that you know the proper chants.” Cecil began rambling.

“Cecil.”

“I am surprised the Sheriff's Secret Police hasn't found out about this misbehavior, you would have been forced to be reeducated.”

“Cecil.”

“To be honest, I'm not sure that you would return unharmed.”

“Cecil!”

“Yes?” The radio host made a sweet and innocent smile.

“Why were you on top of me when I woke up? I thought you went to sleep in my bedroom.” He eyed Cecil suspiciously. Another usual Night Vale happening? Randomly appearing on other sleeping people? Unlikely and illogical, but unsurprising in a city like this one.

The blonde looked around in the room, trying to find something to stare at. He blushed in embarrassment. “Yes, I did go to sleep there. But I woke up after a while, because I can't sleep well in unfamiliar surroundings. And I thought that maybe if you were there I would sleep better.”

Carlos sighed. “Why didn't you wake me up instead? We could have stayed up until you felt ready or I could have stayed with you until you fell asleep again.”

“I thought about that, too, but you looked so calm. You were drooling a little, even. I couldn't bring myself to wake you up.” Cecil seemed distressed and worried about his actions.

Carlos blushed and wiped his mouth although there was no saliva left. “So the first logical consequence for you was to just lay on me and sleep?” 

“It worked like a charm.” Cecil's worry grew. “You're not mad at me, are you?”

Carlos sighed, shook his head with a smile and hugged the blonde man. “How could I ever be mad at you?” Carlos wondered about that himself, so far he has found himself unable to be mad at Cecil for anything. Not that there were reasons to be angry, anyway. Whenever the scientist saw the radio host he was happy and glad to be in the strange city of Night Vale. Every kiss and hug felt great, despite the promise of taking things slow.

Cecil giggled and Carlos kissed his cheek. “Can I take a shower here?”

“Of course. Do you want to change into a set of my clothing afterward?” It seemed more fitting for him to have some clean and tidy clothing. 

The radio host's face flushed red. “Well I can't say no if you insist!”

And so Carlos fetched Cecil clothing and his glasses and brought them to the bathroom before leaving to change into clean clothes himself. He put on a weekday lab coat and checked the calendar. It was a Friday. Carlos had grown to checking everyday, because he did not trust the flow of time or dates in Night Vale. The scientist went to the kitchen to prepare a simple breakfast.

He put on coffee and got out some bread, butter and jam. He wondered for a moment whether Cecil would like this kind of breakfast. Unfortunately, due to the goo-and-dog incident, he had neglected buying more food at a local store. Additionally, he lived alone so his fridge was always filled sparely and with just enough for one person to live on. Big Rico's Pizza was next door, anyway. So food was easily accessible if company happened to come over. 

Carlos had just taken a bite of bread with jam when Cecil entered the kitchen, rubbing a towel through his hair and wearing a mixture of Carlos' and his own clothing. “I took my own pants, after all. I hope you don't mind, but I borrowed your-” He gasped. He dropped the towel, ran over the remaining few steps to Carlos and slapped the bread out of his hand and onto the floor. “Carlos, oh dear, sweet, poor Carlos! What are you doing? What have you done?” Cecil yelled.

The scientist looked at the bread that had fallen face down onto the floor, leaving a nice sticky jam stain. He chewed the bite he had in his mouth and swallowed. “I was eating that. But now I probably won't.” He knelt down to remove the bread from the floor and wipe up the jam, but he did not get to.

“Don't touch it!” 

Carlos' hand twitched away and he looked up at Cecil who seemed terrified and concerned for Carlos. “And why not?”

“It's wheat. You know about wheat and wheat-by products. Oh, Carlos, how could you do this? The things they're gonna do to you!” Cecil was almost in tears and Carlos stood up and shook his head,

He showed the plastic packaging of the bread to his guest. “It's corn.”

The radio host was close to sobbing. “...What?”

“The flour in the bread. The part that's usually made of wheat is made of corn.”

Cecil stared at the plastic bag with a blank face.

“Apparently most people here don't know it but corn flour is a great and very common substitute for normal flour made out of wheat. People suffering from celiac disease often use it to bake with so that they can consume pastry despite their condition. I was surprised to find that no one here knew about corn flour or the existence of corn, so I had colleagues of mine send me a bunch. I introduced it to the bakery around the corner who's owner tried to bake without using flour and selling the gross results of those attempts.” He knelt down and removed the bread from the floor and used a wet paper towel to clean up the jam. “I think the owner of he bakery was grateful, because he's been sending me free corn flour bread ever since.” He stood up again.

Cecil stared at Carlos. “... smart, perfect Carlos ...” He muttered, making the other man blush and smile.

“I think you're exaggerating.” He tossed the old piece of bread into the trash and got out more slices. He covered them in butter and jam and offered one of them to Cecil. “Anyone who knows about corn flour and doesn't deny its existence would have thought of the same thing.”

The radio host took it, still a little baffled by the genius he believed Carlos to be. He took a bite carefully and enjoyed the taste very much. Soon the entire slice was gone and he asked for more as Carlos was pouring coffee into the mugs. 

 

~ o O o ~

 

“So does the Sheriff's Secret Police know about this... corn flour?” Cecil asked as he retrieved his shoes. “Because if not and they see the bread they will assume you are involved in illegal wheat dealing and there will be consequences.”

Carlos was sitting on the couch, watching his guest. “I have tried to let them know by talking to myself in my apartment and loudly emphasizing the words 'corn flour' in my sentences. Their recordings of this place should prove my innocence.” 

Cecil smiled as he shoved his feet into his shoes and tied the laces tightly. “Good thinking.”

“Thank you.” Carlos motioned toward the forms and keys so the radio host would not forget them. “Maybe you could mention it in the next broadcast. If more people knew maybe the wheat criminality would go down and businesses could reopen.”

“Yes, I will absolutely talk about it. But I cannot promise that its existence will be accepted. After all, who knows whether corn really exists?” Cecil took the forms and his keys. “I will see you later.” 

 

~ o O o ~

 

Carlos had considered himself to have wasted enough time at home after Cecil left and he went to the scene of the goo incident. He could see from far away that the substance had grown or increased. There was no sign of the Sheriff's Secret Police, anymore and people were passing the huge black mass of substance carelessly and without giving it a second glance. Carlos was carrying a bag with him to bring various tools and utensils. As he got closer he noticed that the mass was pulsating. The scientist recalled it being completely still and unmoved before and now he could observe the rhythmic and regular pulsing of the substance. 

Some people recognized Carlos and stared at him as they passed, some ogled his perfect hair. He got used to this treatment. There were still plenty of people disagreeing with his presence, but also a lot of citizens, the majority even, that were happy to see him thanks to no other than Cecil Baldwin.

No one interfered with his work. At first he took some measurements like he had the day before to verify that the substance was indeed larger. Then he tried taking samples in several different ways. Although all of them vanished, Carlos could say for sure that it was not because the substance encountered a certain material, but that the vanishing was a consequence of a part being removed from the 'naturally' existing goo. Carlos wondered what would happen if one were to take a larger sample, say, a bucketful of substance. With that thought in his head he quickly retrieved a bucket from his laboratory which was underneath his apartment and returned. 

With gloved hands the scientist dunked the bucket unto the substance and with resistance from the goo's side, pulled it out again. He could observe the substance vanish without leaving traces. The large mass showed no hole or no sign of there ever having been a bucket. 

Carlos sighed. He was going to have to experiment on the whole thing in public. At first he went through the basics: Appearance, odor, traits, behavior and more. Once he had answered all the basic questions in his head he was certain that the substance was not some kind of creature and was not directly harming humans. But if it was as simple as that one could wait and see whether the substance left on its own or try to separate huge chunks, hoping it would vanish. What posed as a problem, however, was the disappearance of the dog. Carlos could not announce that the goo could be removed or should be left alone until he knew that happened to that animal. 

But Carlos had thought of methods to figure that out, as well. He had brought a plant, some inanimate objects and an electronic device to the scene. By tossing those in separately and then testing for their presence, one would be able to determine the conditions for something to vanish inside the goo. 

He let one after another of his testing objects sink in and searched individually for them after each sinking. All of them appeared to be no longer present. So it was not only living things. That still did not answer where they went, though. The substance showed no sign to be any sort of acid or caustic at all. Carlos' hands and gloves received no damage and neither did the bucket. Carlos sighed and took off his rubber gloves. If there was no other way to test it he had to do it this way. He knelt down, rolled up his lab coat sleeves and thrust one arm into the substance until he was in elbow-deep.

The man felt a tingling sensation and a feeling that was somewhere in between being tickled by the tips of a million feathers and being pricked by a million tiny needles. When he tried to pull his arm out again, the substance resisted and refused to let him go. It sucked on Carlos' body, trying to pull him in and consume him. The scientist felt no fear and he did not panic. Instead he considered this to be very interesting. As long as he was still inside the substance, nothing happened, but the more he tried to wiggle and pull his arm out, the more the substance tried to suck him in. 

The best way to get out would be one smooth and quick movement, so Carlos simply tore his arm out of the substance. Once again no traces were left on his skin, although the goo had felt very sticky a mere moment before. The man stood up and looked around. Many people were walking by. There was nothing keeping people or animals or anything else from entering the substance and drowning or disappearing inside of it. And yet, the substance was pulsating and still growing so future accidents were inevitable. Especially children were endangered. People had to be informed. This was no time to stand and attempt to talk to by passers, though, this was a time to be grateful to know someone in the news business very well. Carlos stood in an alley in order not to hinder pedestrians and to avoid dropping his phone into the goo. He took out the phone. He dialed Cecil's number by pushing one button. The scientist had not told Cecil this, but his number was the first one on speed-dial in Carlos' cellphone. 

 

~ o O o ~

 

Somewhere else Cecil was sorting papers for a broadcast and rambling to his latest intern about him staying over at Carlos'. The new intern, Sandra, seemed to pay attention to every detail and nodded friendly at Cecil. They got along well. Sandra was anxious to get into the broadcasting business and to get there she would do anything to get on Cecil's good side. She had heard stories about him being the only intern to ever get past his internship time and pass various tests with flying colors. 

“... so then he suggested that I would talk about the flour substitute on the broadcast. He is so intelligent, my Carlos, and he also...”

Sandra would not have believed that this person was the calming, reassuring, respected Voice of Night Vale if she had not heard every of his broadcasts, especially those concerning Carlos.

A strange melody filled the room. “One second, intern Sandra.” Cecil slipped his cellphone out of his pocket and made a grin when he saw who was calling. There was no need to silence his phone when he was not on air. Cecil pressed the green button with a huge smile. “Carlos!” There was no need to pretend that he did not know who the caller was. 

“Hey, Cecil, is this a bad time?” Cecil heard voices and the sound of distant traffic in the background, Carlos was probably outside somewhere.

“No, not at all. Where are you calling from?” 

“An alley near your apartment, I'm close to the strange substance.” Carlos considered it to be odd that Cecil was interested in his location. Usually he would just ramble about strange things or ask flirtatious questions. 

“Oh alright. I thought you were somewhere else.” Cecil smirked. “Why are you calling, did you forget anything?”

“No, but I have been doing some minor tests on the substance and I wanted to ask you to add some information when you talk about it on the radio later. Please warn people not go close to it or touch it. Anything that gets swallowed by the substance seemingly disappears and I have yet to figure out where to. It's also growing” Carlos glanced over at the pulsating mass. “Also it seems to be pulsing now, I don't know why, though.”

“I will spread the word.”

“There's more. If someone happens to get caught inside of it, they should not struggle, but ask someone to pull them out in one go. The substance tries to swallow whatever touches it and it tugs even more when one struggles.”

“But Carlos, the goo has been declared as a great playground for children of all ages. Playing with the goo was announced to be fun and educational. And the children can build their very own goo castles and broaden their creativity before being swallowed by it.” Cecil read the last sentence off one of his papers that he had readied for the upcoming broadcast. 

“What? You can't possibly tell people to put their children in there. They will disappear. Maybe they'll die.” Carlos stared at the wall in front of him. 

Cecil sighed. “I have been told to tell this though.” He hesitated. “How about I read this announcement first and then say what you told me, would that work?”

“I … I guess if you can't just leave out the other information. Thanks, Cecil.” 

“Anything for you, Carlos. Absolutely anything.” Sandra waved a note in Cecil's face. He read it. “Oh, I just received a note. I have to go make an interview.”

“Okay, take care.”

Cecil blushed. “You, too. Don't … don't do anything reckless. No one wants another incident like the one at the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex.”

Carlos smiled, suddenly that naked cold alley felt warm and Carlos felt like he had accidentally swallowed some of the tingling goo. “Don't worry, I won't put you through something like that again.” He had heard about Cecil's breakdown while being on air. But only after their meeting in the parking lot of Arby's. It had not been hard to tell that Cecil had been affected by the incident, though. The bloodshot eyes and tear stained face had been speaking for themselves.

“Bye...” Cecil muttered with a soft and warm voice, unwillingly recalling the pain he had felt when he had believed Carlos to be dead.

“Bye.” Carlos hung up quickly, hoping that Cecil would not worry too much.

 

~ o O o ~

“I should get some fruit...”

After hours of constant observation Carlos let the substance be, deciding that he had to do the shopping or he would forget it again. 

He was holding a shopping basket and walking through the aisles, looking around. He had learned not to take the shopping cart after it bit him a while ago. Carlos had a hard time finding his way through the shop. That was because the store appeared to change its layout frequently at random. The aisle one came out of was a different aisle just half a minute later. These changes were not visible through any of the large shop windows. Neither were the customers inside the shop or any of the staff. Carlos had tried multiple times to draw up a logical layout of the store as well as an explanation for its strange behavior, but gave up on it eventually. Not for good, though. He was convinced he would find out about this shop's mysteries someday.

It was apparently easy to get lost forever and never return. Carlos remembered Cecil reporting on this shop and sending in an intern once. The intern was never to be seen again. The scientist had tried to ignore some remains of former customers, including traces of blood on the floor. It was especially bad in the aisle for canned soup. Carlos hoped he would not have to go through it again.

He walked through an aisle of precooked microwave meals and decided to take some. He never cooked. He lived alone and had to eat something, but there was no point in cooking. He read the label on the back of one of the plastic containers. The ingredients were as confusing and illogical as usual. Carlos did not recall the blood of the innocent or ham being in a serving mashed potatoes and peas. He put the item back into the shelf. Maybe he should get something else. He did have a guest staying over, after all. 

Carlos thought. Maybe a meal with rice would be good. There was nothing wrong in this town with eating rice, right? He sighed. Night Vale sure was complicated.

 

~ o O o ~

 

Carlos had lost all sense of time in that shop. He had bought way more than expected in the end and spent much more time in the store than planned. He was in no hurry, though. Carlos checked his watch. Cecil's broadcast was not even on, yet. There was enough time to go back to the substance and check on it. But with the filled plastic bags in both hands doing any testing would be complicated and Carlos was planning on listening to the broadcast to hear how Cecil would convey the information he had told him. It was also interesting, but mostly embarrassing, in how much detail Cecil talked about his feelings for and activities with the scientist. 

 

~ o O o ~

 

In the end he did not go back to the substance. Carlos should have known that if he laid down closing his eyes and promised himself that it would be only five minutes he would end up falling asleep for a few hours. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his limbs. He took off the wrinkled lab coat, thinking that he should not have worn it during his sleep in the first place, and tossed it onto the couch. “Oh well...” He muttered under his breath. He looked at the plastic bags he had abandoned by the door. He picked them up and unpacked them in the kitchen. While he was at it he turned on the radio. Luckily he had woken up before Cecil's show started. 

There was music playing on the radio. Carlos was starving and decided to make himself a sandwich. The music on the radio was upbeat and catchy. Carlos felt like he had heard the song before, although he could not recall where. For some reason he knew all the lyrics, though. He mouthed them as he prepared his snack and could not help but match his movements to the beat of the song. He never knew making a sandwich would work as a dance.

By the time Carlos had finished eating his sandwich a few more songs had passed and Cecil's voice was finally audible through the radio. Carlos hurried and took the radio to the living room to get comfortable and do nothing but listen to the broadcast. Cecil's voice was the most calming and most pleasant voice he had ever heard and he enjoyed lying on the couch with closed eyes and that voice in his ears far more than he would ever admit to anyone.

As the broadcast progressed the news about the black substance were finally stated. Cecil explained the situation vividly and said everything he had been told to say. It sounded strange, though, since everything he explained in the end was the opposite of what he said in the beginning. Carlos was glad that it was said, though. That was until Cecil explained that he had received a note from one of the creepy children that delivered messages and that the note was from City Council and said to disregard all information about avoiding the substance. Carlos muttered curses. The City Council did not even know what it was and yet they wanted to send their citizens into it. The children, even. He sighed. There was nothing that could be done, though. Cecil had to listen to what the City Council said or he would have to face terrible consequences.

Cecil's voice was enough to calm the scientist down. The remaining broadcast progressed without any incidents or notes. Throughout the broadcast Carlos counted his name being said about 15 times. And almost all the time explanations and compliments were attached to his name that made Carlos press his face into a pillow as he blushed and was embarrassed. Especially the extremely detailed description of what he looked like when sleeping made him almost suffocate himself with the pillow.

There was a moment near the end of the broadcast that made Carlos perk up and open his eyes. Cecil told his listeners to be with their loved ones and appreciate every minute with them before either of them were taken by the void, World Government or the Sheriff's Secret Police. This statement was followed by several strange remarks. 

Carlos sat up. He did not know whether Cecil was planning on Carlos hearing that particular statement, but it moved something inside the scientist. He was right, after all, Night Vale was a dangerous city. Anyone could be met with their demise any day. 

 

~ o O o ~

 

The door bell rang and Carlos hurried down the stairs to open up the door. He smiled at his guest. Cecil smiled, as well in return. Greetings were exchanged and Carlos let him into the tiny hallway and closed and locked the door behind him. Then he took his guest's hand and held it tightly in his own as he led him into the actual apartment.

“Did you listen to the broadcast?” Cecil asked with a smile as he took off his shoes and put them down beside the door.

“Yes, I can't believe City Council ruined the warnings.” Carlos shook his head in disapproval. 

Cecil shrugged. “It happens. I'm sorry, but I had to say what they told me to.”

“Of course.” Carlos hugged the radio host. “I'm not blaming you, don't worry.” Carlos felt Cecil hug back. “You said... quite a lot of things about me.” Both of them blushed.

“Oh, you were listening the whole time...” Cecil blushed more. “It is my duty to do public services.”

“Telling the citizens about my sleeping habits is considered a public service?” 

“One of the highest priority.” 

Carlos rolled his eyes, but due to the hug, Cecil could not see it, luckily. “Alright then.”

“Cecil, I've been thinking about things and there was something that... I wanted to ask you.” Carlos let go off Cecil and simply took both of his hands instead. He avoided eye contact.

“Yes?” Cecil looked at Carlos with wide eyes. “What is it?”

“I... well...” Carlos bit his bottom lip for a moment. “It's important that we talk about this sometime so...”

“Yes? Yes?” Cecil's eyed became even wider.

“What do you wanna eat for dinner?”

“Oh.”

That was not what Carlos had wanted to ask. The real question was far more important and serious, but somehow the dinner question had slipped out instead. Maybe because it was just so much easier to ask someone things about food. Carlos could not bear to look at Cecil. He could _feel_ the disappointment.

“Well, that ...” Carlos could hear Cecil take a deep breath. “That depends entirely on what you have here to cook a meal with.”

They went to the kitchen and Cecil looked in the fridge and the cupboards to check on the supply. Carlos was leaning against the wall, staring at the floor in the meantime. He wanted to bang his head against that wall repeatedly in frustration. He was not a coward. Why was it that difficult for him to talk to Cecil about the things he really wanted to talk about. He glanced at the man eying the products in the fridge. Carlos felt bad, he had disappointed Cecil many, many times to the point where Cecil seemed accustomed to it. 

“I think we could have a chicken meal.” Cecil turned to Carlos, who looked up from the ground. 

“Sure. I don't know how to make one though.” He admitted. “I'm useless when it comes to cooking. Could you maybe, if it's okay with you, cook? I can cut things and mix things together, but that's as far as my skills go.” 

Cecil snickered, apparently amused. “Carlos, you're so silly. You're saying that as if I had the forms with all the needed signatures at hand! And to think that one would cook at someone else's place without bringing their own pots and pans!” Cecil snickered more.

Carlos was surprised, but he decided to go along with Cecil's amusement. “Hahaha... yeah, you got me. Who would do something like that? But I really can't cook, so maybe you have to tell me what to do as I prepare the food. Can you to that?”

The snicker turned into laughter. “Sure, if you can get the fifty signatures!”

Carlos was at a loss. Apparently getting Cecil to somehow help him with making the food was forbidden unless some forms were present or signatures were collected for reasons the scientist did not understand. How would one even collect signatures with the ban on writing utensils? The only way was to get Big Rico to sign a sheet fifty times. Carlos watched Cecil still snickering to himself. Whatever Carlos had said had been ridiculous enough to put Cecil into a good humor, so it was no waste of time asking.

Carlos decided not to tell Cecil that he had been completely serious in order to keep the latter in high spirits. Instead he walked to the counter and took out some ingredients he knew had to be in a chicken meal. What kind of meal would he even make. Should he cook or bake or boil the poultry? The odd symbols on the labels of the product were not providing him with answers.

After staring down the ingredients for about ten minutes Carlos sighed and looked over at Cecil who had moved to sit at the tiny table in the kitchen. “Let's just go to Big Rico's Pizza next door. My treat.”

Cecil blinked in surprise as he looked up at Carlos, but nodded in consent quickly and stood up. “Good idea. I haven't eaten there this week, yet.” 

Carlos put the ingredients back into the fridge and cupboard and marched to the apartment door, followed by Cecil. He was embarrassed about not having been able to make anything, at all. But with Cecil understanding his requests for help as jokes, maybe the radio host would believe the entire idea of making food in his home had been nothing but comedy. 

Carlos looked at his wrinkled lab coat. Then he glared at it. He did not leave his house without a lab coat on. He was not even allowed to, even if he wanted to. Not after he had found a note on his fridge one fateful day, explaining that he has to wear a lab coat in public, upon his return from the grocery store where he had not worn one. Carlos did not mind his personal ban on lab coat free walking in public, he felt uncomfortable without one on, anyway. But that was the first time someone had entered his apartment without his knowledge and left something and Carlos began to wonder how many times someone had been in there. Maybe even in his laboratory downstairs.

Cecil looked at Carlos, followed his gaze and found himself looking at the wrinkled lab coat, as well. For some reason Carlos was deep in thought and glaring at it, so maybe Cecil was supposed to show manners and do as his host did. 

In the end both of them were glaring at the wrinkled lab coat for approximately fifteen minutes in absolute silence.

 

~ o O o ~

 

“I don't know what to order.” Carlos sighed.

“I thought you said any type of pizza is fine. Why not order 'Any Pizza'. It's right there on the menu.” Cecil showed the option to Carlos, who shook his head.

Eventually Carlos had simply retrieved another lab coat from his dresser. Not many people were at Big Rico's Pizza this late. It was probably close to closing time, anyway. The lack of a sign with any real information on it did not help knowing when to leave. But Big Rico was a huge supporter of Cecil's show and the pizza place sponsored it sometimes, so staying late appeared to be no problem.

“I don't even wanna imagine what they would serve me, because of the ban on wheat and wheat-by products. That goes for any type of pizza on the menu.” Carlos was not going to support illegal wheat dealing and he was not in the mood to find out what Night Vale citizens thought was a proper substitute for wheat flour. The word of corn flour had only been spoken on the radio a while ago and said flour did not exist in Night Vale, yet. So it was close to impossible for Big Rico's Pizza to have any of it in store.

“I think we can trust Big Rico, but I suppose you could order something else.” Cecil was bent on finding something for his precious Carlos to eat, he would not have him be in a bad mood on this spontaneous date. At least Cecil liked to think it was one. He was sad that he could not retrieve nice evening wear from his apartment, but Carlos had said not to touch the substance and Cecil was not going to ask again and make it seem like he had not listened.

“I think I'll just have a salad.” Carlos closed the menu.

Cecil smiled. “I'll have one, too, then. I hear it sings beautifully this time of the night.”

Carlos pressed his lips together and gave the menu another glance, thinking about reconsidering. But then he just shrugged and ordered the food and beverages. Neither of them said a word for a while as they looked out of the window, into the dim streets. After a while Carlos broke the silence. “I hope everyone's alright.”

Cecil looked at him. “What do you mean?”

Carlos kept looking out of the window, his gaze was distant. “Whenever something bad happens in this town or something that seems bad, at least, I can't help but worry about it. And every time I fail to help people I feel bad.”

Carlos. Sweet, poor, smart, compassionate Carlos. Cecil only wanted to hold him and tell him it was okay. “But why? The rate of people that die during incidents has gone down ever since you arrived. Sure, you overreact when something happens, but in the end it always turns out better than it could have.”

“Maybe. But I don't want anyone to die.” He looked at Cecil. “You probably don't know this, but these bizarre and strange happenings... they are practically nonexistent in the world outside of Night Vale.”

“I think bizarre and strange are too strong words for what happens every now and then.”

Carlos looked back out of the window and he knew that the people in this town thought that way, but he still did not rest easy when unusual things happened. For some reason he had had no problems sleeping the night before. Maybe it was because... He turned back to Cecil and smiled at him.

Cecil smiled back happily. “You know, if you can't cook you should have just said so.”

“Huh?”

“You know what I mean. While your silly ideas were very amusing, in the end it was quite obvious that you had no idea what to do.”

Carlos blushed. “Well, I did try to tell you, but...”

“It's okay. I'll bring the proper forms so I can help you next time.” He looked down. “Assuming there is a next time, that is.”

“Well...” Carlos started again. “I don't think the goo situation will be solved anytime soon. And you still need some place to stay. And I still don't mind you being there. I think picking up copies of those forms would be a good idea. Just in case.” 

Cecil grinned at Carlos and had a hard time keeping down his urge to squeal and wave his hands in the air. “I'll make sure to get some.” 

The salad arrived and it was, in fact, singing. It was not loud or annoying, it was two salads singing the same song in unison. During the meal Carlos found out that when eaten the singing would turn into screaming, which is why one had to chew with their mouth closed. Muffling the screams was necessary in order not to bother any other customers. Carlos examined the meal thoroughly to find a mouth or any source of the sound, but once a piece of the salad was on the fork it became apparent that every piece could sing on its own and scream on its own. Cecil enjoyed watching the scientist examine his food like that and watched him happily with a smile and a closed mouth.

 

~ o O o ~

 

After paying and leaving the topic of the black substance came up again and after Carlos had explained the means of sinking inside of it again, Cecil had compared it to quicksand which had led to Carlos trying to explain why it was not like quicksand and then what precisely quicksand was. This, in turn, had led to Carlos showing Cecil his laboratory, where he kept a white board so that he could draw some of his ideas and similar things. Although writing utensils were banned, Carlos managed to get a single approval for a white board marker that only wrote on a white board. He had sent in the marker and a twenty page essay about it, as was customary and received it back half empty with a red sticker on it, reading 'APPROVED' in bold yellow letters. 

Cecil was more interested in all the devices and instruments than the white board. The lab was much brighter than Carlos' apartment and the objects inside of it were much stranger and much more interesting. Carlos had begged Cecil to be careful since replacing some of the items was close to impossible without making a very long drive to another city far away. Cecil was an obedient and well behaved guest and only looked at most of the things. Even the beeping box that Carlos had brought to the studio once and held to the microphone was there.

Eventually Cecil sat down on a chair and looked at the whiteboard. The explanation about quicksand and its way of working and the difference between quicksand and the substance was more interesting than Cecil had expected. He listened closely without a word until Carlos said something about density and it being impossible for someone to drown in quicksand or sink in completely.

“Sorry, Carlos, but I think you're wrong.” He felt bad for interrupting the most intelligent and most perfect Carlos, but he had to correct him. “Hundreds of people drown each year in the quicksand just outside the town.”

“Cecil, it is scientifically proven that due to the higher density of quicksand than the density of a body it's impossible to sink in completely.” 

“Well, maybe there's different kinds of quicksand, then. Because I'm certain that those people died sinking in completely. Or at least they disappeared.”

“Any kind of quicksand would have the high density attribute.” Carlos became interested. “I must take some samples of that sand outside town sometime and run some tests.”

“Please don't sink...” 

“I'll be careful. Now where was I...”

 

~ o O o ~

 

The lecture about quicksand was over soon and both men were back in the living room. Cecil looked at the clock on a nearby wall. 

“You might wanna try that one instead.” Carlos pointed to a clock on another wall. “That one's Night Vale time.”

Cecil nodded. “Either way, it is too late for me to give a you a lesson in chanting. Even though I have the paperwork right here.” He pointed at the papers on the coffee table. Carlos had not even noticed Cecil putting them there. 

“Tomorrow is also a day.” Carlos said as he hugged the smaller man from behind and held him tightly. 

“Most likely.” Cecil added and placed his hands on Carlos' arms that were wrapped around his torso. “I have written the broadcast for tomorrow, already and done all the paperwork. I don't have to be at the station before the broadcast tomorrow.”

“That's good.” Carlos muttered and pressed Cecil closer to his body. It felt so good to simply hold him, to know that he was there and to feel Cecil's body against his own. 

Cecil closed his eyes with a blush and a smile as he leaned into the warmth of Carlos' body. “Do you want to do something nice together tomorrow?” 

“Yes, but I have to go back to the substance to see how the situation develops over night. Let's see what we want to do tomorrow. First we should plan on what to do with the remaining evening.”

“I thought we were just gonna chant and go to bed.” Cecil blushed brightly. “Is there anything... better you had in mind?”

Carlos remembered Cecil's words on the radio and he also remembered the promise to take it slow. “I don't want to force you, but I would enjoy... cuddling.”

Cecil turned around in Carlos arms. “M-Me too!” 

Carlos smiled and planted a soft kiss on the radio host's lips before taking off his lab coat and taking him to the couch, where the both of them laid down together. “Should I turn on the radio for some background noise?” Carlos asked as he held Cecil close to him. 

“No...” Cecil muttered. “I don't want to hear anything beside you.” He scooted closer to his scientist and placed his head against the other man's chest.

“Alright.” Carlos whispered with a smile. He put one hand underneath Cecil's chin and tilted his head up so their gazes met. Carlos slipped off Cecil's glasses with one hand and put it aside and then he did the same with his own. He looked at the abstract picture of an eye on Cecil's forehead. For some reason it had always struck him as fascinating. Then he looked into the radio host's eyes and then at his cheeks and then his lips which he kissed.

Cecil kissed back and he felt his heart doing incredible gymnastics in his chest. He put a hand on the back of Carlos' head to touch his perfect hair. He felt Carlos' hands on his shoulder blade and the small of his back, stroking. There was no need for words so neither of them spoke. Every now and then they repositioned themselves to get comfortable. Carlos pulled Cecil on top of him and Cecil simply laid there, his head on Carlos' chest so that he could listen to Carlos' heartbeat.

After a while the silence was broken by Cecil's soft voice. “I wish I could fall asleep right here... but I have to change and... chant.” 

Carlos smiled. “Maybe we should go to bed.” He took Cecil's glasses and returned them to their owner who put them on hesitantly.

“.. To the _same_ bed...?” Cecil asked.

Carlos put on his own glasses, he shook his head and petted Cecil's hair. “Not tonight.” He said softly.

“Tomorrow is also a day. And there will be a night.” Cecil quoted Carlos' earlier words and added his own with a blush on his face.

“Most likely.” Carlos added, making Cecil chuckle.

 

~ o O o ~

 

After getting ready to sleep and chanting more or less well they said and kissed each other goodnight. Cecil disappeared into the bedroom, looking at Carlos on the couch until the door closed.

He laid down in the now more familiar bed. The sheets and everything still smelled like Carlos and Cecil loved it. Cecil did not enjoy any scent more than the one of his perfect Carlos. He stared out of the window. He was tired. He thought about the scientist and his behavior. Somehow after Cecil's return from the station Carlos seemed closer to him. Cecil smiled to himself. He loved the man so very, very much. If someone said 'one true love', Cecil would say Carlos' name in a heartbeat.

Meanwhile in the next room Carlos was staring at the bedroom door that separated him from Cecil. He thought about Cecil. Of course he thought about Cecil. Carlos wondered whether making him wait for at least another night to share bed was alright. He knew how anxious Cecil was to move the relationship forward.

But truth was that tomorrow was going to be another day followed by another night. Carlos relied on that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This became longer than expected.
> 
> Have this chapter cut in scenes to consume with care.
> 
> Comments are appreciated!


	3. Third time's a charm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I usually don't put notes at the beginning but:   
> For my standards this chapter is quite long ( ~ 11000 words) 
> 
> I hope that doesn't make you not wanna read it immediately, because there's always a few bits that are needed for a fluent storyline, but are not that interesting to read. Maybe read it in portions? The ~ o O o ~ marks a thematic, temporal or local cut, after all.
> 
> Enjoy!

Carlos groaned. He made a few strange noises before blinking into consciousness the following morning. His alarm clock had not rung to wake him up, which meant that either he had woken up before the set alarm or, which was much more likely, it was the weekend. 

Carlos yawned and looked around lazily. He only noticed the extra weight and warmth on top of him when he saw Cecil's hair blocking his view to the ceiling. Carlos usually slept on the side so the first thing he saw were other things. The scientist did not know whether to be mad or confused or what to think of this situation. He wanted to yell his guest's name loud enough for any possible neighbors to hear, but he knew that speaking before the morning chanting is prohibited. So instead he made a loud sigh and shook the person on top of him.

It was not that it was not nice. It was not that Carlos did not enjoy being this close to Cecil. It was simply the unexpected person on top of him and somehow the broken personal bubble that Carlos had built carefully around himself and was only letting Cecil in every now and then when the moment seemed right. 

Cecil's eyelids twitched a few times before they opened slowly. He smiled down at Carlos. “Good morning, Carlos. I hope you slept well.” 

Confused and worried, Carlos raised his voice. “Don't you have to chant now?”

“Oh, it can wait a few more moments.” He strokes Carlos' cheek with his thumb softly. “I'd rather wait a few moments like this with you.”

Carlos leaned into the warm touch of Cecil's hand. “You silenced me yesterday when I tried to speak before you chanted.”

Cecil shook his head with the softest of smiles. And Carlos was about to argue that he remembered exactly how Cecil placed his long tender finger on Carlos' lips, but the radio host spoke up again. “Sometimes I prefer silence before I chant. It helps getting into it. But today I'm looking forward to spending time with you so I'm feeling just right.”

“Alright, then.” Carlos could understand that, at least it was not another weird Night Vale regulation, something like silence before chanting only on weekdays. “Then, before you chant, tell me. Why are you here?”

Cecil tilted his head. “That is a very interesting question, my dear Carlos. There have been many discussions about why I'm here, why anyone is here, really. So far I have not come to a conclusion, but the conversations I've had years ago with my parents about my existence helped me realize that I was at least not a figment of my own imagination. That's as much of an answer as I can give you right now.” He smiled and hugged the man underneath him.

“I wanted to know why you are on top of me again.”

“Oh! Why didn't you say so?” Cecil giggled. A soft blush crept across his cheeks. Carlos noticed for the first time that it was an odd shade of red. The hue of Cecil's blush seemed to be more violet than what blood usually looked like. “To be honest... I couldn't resist. I missed you a lot.”

“You were one room over. What do you do when you're in your home and you miss me?”

“Well...” Cecil started, his odd blush increased.

“Wait.” Carlos' cheeks heated. “Don't answer that. I'm not sure whether I'm ready for the answer.” 

Cecil looked sad somehow, ashamed, maybe. Carlos cursed himself in his mind. Why did he have to say something like that? He was feeling so awkward whenever being close with someone, but that was not Cecil's fault. Carlos felt like he was being cruel and to make up for it he kissed Cecil's forehead softly.

“I'm sorry.” He kissed the blonde's cheek. “I didn't mean it like that. I only meant that you don't have to tell me, if it makes you uncomfortable. I don't want anything to be awkward or weird between us.” That word. 'Us'. Carlos realized how right it felt to think of Cecil and himself as a pair, as something that was made to be, as two people that have found each other and that were destined to stay together. 

The radio host smiled a little and nodded. “I know. You wouldn't have bad intentions. My perfect and brave Carlos wouldn't mean to say or do anything bad.” Both of them blushed more. 

 

~ o O o ~

 

Carlos had realized that he had slept in. It had turned out to be quite late. As Cecil had gotten up to chant, change and get ready for the day, the scientist had rolled around more in his couch bed, not finding the will in himself to get up. There were things to be done, experiments to be made. But the couch had been comfortable and warm and somehow that canceled out all feeling of obligation and duty.

Eventually Cecil had left through the front door, claiming he had to do some things and would be back in a little while. He had also declared that if Carlos was not up by the time he was back, Cecil would make sure he would regret it. Despite the sweet smile and lighthearted voice, the threat had sounded serious and scared Carlos into getting up.

He was just getting out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He glanced over to the window where he saw a shadow moving for a moment. Luckily the glass of the bathroom window did not allow anyone to see anything inside properly. It was the first floor. Whoever looked inside was either using some kind of magic that Carlos still did not believe in or they were very determined to keep a close on him, which was more likely. 

He still had not grown completely used to being observed by different instances 24/7 and he was not sure whether he ever would be, but it did not bother him as much anymore as it did when he first moved to Night Vale. Especially since nothing he knew of had happened with the data and information on him that had been recorded. At least nothing was published, or Cecil would have known and reported on it in a heartbeat. 

Carlos looked into the mirror and did the usual morning routine of brushing his teeth and washing his face. He decided that his facial hair was getting too long for his taste so he shaved. He dried himself and got dressed before putting away the used towels and clothing and leaving the bathroom. He kept a towel around his shoulders to keep the water in his wet hair from dripping onto the shirt. 

Noises could be heard from the nearby kitchen and Carlos wondered whether he had missed Cecil entering the house. If it was not Cecil, then it had to be one of the people that apparently repeatedly entered his home without his consent or knowledge. What was he even supposed to do if he met one of those inside his home? Pretend not to notice them or maybe make awkward eye contact without a word being spoken? Maybe that was something he would have learned if he had attended any of the seminars about living in Night Vale as he was told to. They were held for new citizens, but seeing as Carlos was the only new citizen to move into Night Vale that year he passed up on the opportunity in hopes to avoid being alone with some terrifying tutor.

Fortunately, the person in the kitchen was no shady man, going through Carlos' things and having questionable intentions. It was Cecil and he was cooking. And it smelled delicious.

“Good morning again, Sleeping Beauty.” Cecil giggled. He flipped some unfamiliar food in an unfamiliar pan he was holding. It was most likely to be a pancake or at least Carlos decided to think that it was one. “I have always wanted to say that but I never got to.”

The term was not as fitting as if Carlos had just gotten up, but he was not one to spoil Cecil's fun. At least not intentionally. “Good morning. You're cooking, I see.” He smiled and approached Cecil.

“Yes.” The smaller man lifted the pancake out of the pan and onto a plate that contained a stack of them. They all had different hues and a different level of translucence. He put more dough into the pan. “After dinner last night I wondered whether you never cook for yourself and I couldn't stand the thought of you never getting a good home cooked meal!”

Carlos wore a sheepish smile and a small blush. “You don't have to go through this kind of trouble. I'm not very picky with my food. I spent weeks, if not months, living on Hot Pockets and Pepsi during my college years. My breakfast consisted of three cups of instant coffee.”

The radio host made a small audible gasp. “My poor Carlos...” He muttered. “Having to suffer from such a diet...”

The scientist raised his hands and waved them as if trying to defend himself. “It's not that bad. It was cheaper than most other options and Hot Pockets are actually quite tasty.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. “But, that aside, I'm surprised that you actually went ahead and got a pan. What about the paperwork?”

Cecil grinned with pride. “Everything is done and in order. And this pan is new. I bought it earlier. I went out to get it so that I could make you breakfast. I picked up the necessary forms and called in a few favors to get the few signatures necessary.”

Carlos sighed with a smile. “All this trouble just to cook for me.”

“Well, I don't wanna brag, but I am quite the good cook.” He grinned some more. Carlos noticed how menacing his teeth seemed to be. Especially the corner ones seemed capable of biting through anything. “Big Rico taught me a few things a while back.”

The man at the door nodded. “Thank you for doing this for me.” He set the table which was barely large enough to fit two people's plates and food on it. The kitchen was small and crammed even with little furniture. The bathroom was tiny, too. The most space of the apartment was probably in the bedroom, but the space was packed with moving boxes that Carlos had promised himself to open and unpack a million times, but had never gotten around to doing so; despite being in Night Vale for quite some time, already.

They ate once Cecil was done cooking. The pancakes, Carlos, figured, were much better than their color and translucence suggested. The texture changed when the food entered one's mouth and the scientific mind of Carlos was immediately wrapping itself around how it worked. 'Maybe it's due to the saliva.', he thought. In addition, the color of the pancake seemed to determine what the texture it would feel like in one's mouth. As the purple ones were sticky enough to nearly suffocate him as he swallowed and the green ones turned into pancake dust, he decided they were his least favorite. The blue ones had a pleasant cake-like texture and the red ones were like whipped cream. But all in all, the taste remained the same, no matter the color, which felt strange.

Leftovers remained and Cecil said that they had to be put in the freezer, so that is where they went. After being stared at with wide expectant eyes for some time, Carlos finally reviewed the pancakes. “Despite one of them nearly killing me by depriving me of oxygen, they were great. Unlike anything I've ever tasted before.” Carlos decided to praise his guest as much as he could when he saw Cecil's eyes shine and his cheeks flush in that odd shade. “If you weren't a radio host, already, I'd want to hire you as my personal cook.”

Cecil looked as if he was about ready to burst if Carlos were to say one more compliment. And since no one in Night Vale wanted to lose their beloved radio host, Carlos included, the scientist simply gave his guest's cheek a soft and playful peck.

 

~ o O o ~

 

“I should get a haircut....” Carlos muttered as he stood in front of the mirror in his bedroom and brushed his wild hair, trying to tame it into some kind of shape. Maybe if he did not let it air dry, it would be easier to comb. 

Those words were enough to get a loud, shocked noise out of the radio host who was occupying the bed and observing the other. “A haircut?” He nearly shrieked those words, recalling the last time anyone had laid hand on his Carlos' brown locks. Telly. Telly the barber. That treacherous man who was hopefully still paying for his crime with his sanity in the Sand Wastes. Cecil jumped from the bed to Carlos and he put his hands on the other's brown hair. “Why, sweet Carlos, why would you want to cut this perfection. Why do you want Night Vale to suffer?”

Carlos stared at Cecil's reflection in the mirror. “Calm down, Cecil. It's only hair.”

“Blasphemy!” Cecil yelled as he ran his hands through the strands. “This beauty, this perfection, is not only hair. Have you even seen it, Carlos? How can you say this is 'only hair'?”

“... It _is_ only hair. Cecil, you're overreacting. Frankly, my hair has grown quite long after the last time I got it cut. It's starting to become a hassle and it has split ends.” Carlos nudged Cecil's hands away with the hairbrush.

“Why are you doing this to me?” Cecil said, in a dark and monotone voice. 

Carlos stopped brushing as he felt a chill down his spine. He turned his head enough to see Cecil from the corner of his eyes. “I-I'm only going to get the tips cut. S-so the hair is... healthy.” Carlos stuttered, he felt as if something dark and unholy had awoken behind him.

“Oh, is that so? What a relief!” Cecil chirped in a voice as sweet as sugar. And then the darkness vanished in the blink of an eye. Cecil could be a little creepy sometimes.

 

~ o O o ~

 

“So you're taking me to my apartment?” Cecil was hold onto Carlos' arm tightly as if he was afraid of getting lost in a town he knew so much better than the scientist.

“More or less. I am taking you to see what happened to your apartment. And I will do some more tests. By the way, you don't seem concerned or worried about your home at all. If that was my home, I would have run there the moment I found out something was happening and I would have been worried ever since.”

Cecil shrugged. “I like the circumstances I'm in very much, my dear Carlos. And when you told me about what was happening I was at the station and couldn't leave.”

“What about your personal items and belongings?” Carlos had never been to Cecil's place before. There had never been any discussion about him going there or anyone mentioning it. It had only been about Cecil coming up into Carlos' apartment. Because of this, the scientist did not know much about his guest's home, but he assumed that there were some items that could not be replaced. Expensive furniture, photo albums, anything really. Was there such a thing as insurance in Night Vale?

“I don't think that there will be any problem.”

Carlos looked down at his companion in confusion. “A dog vanished inside the substance and he has not been seen since. How can you stay optimistic?”

Cecil patted Carlos' arm. “I just can. You worry too much about things like this. You need to calm down a little. It will go away and everything will be fine. That's how it has always been. No one is hurt, no one is complaining about it.”

Maybe these things were normal in Night Vale, but in Carlos' eyes they still were terrible occurrences that had to be dealt with somehow. He could not agree with the radio host's carefree attitude or his simple optimism. Fact was that there was an unidentified large black, maybe still pulsing, mass of substance that was leaking out of Cecil's apartment building. Fact was also that anything that was swallowed by the substance disappeared. This meant that countless objects and maybe people were gone to some unknown location. Something had to be done. Carlos could not rest.

They arrived at the scene. 

The substance had stopped growing, much to Carlos' surprise. But it was still pulsating. The scientist looked at Cecil, searching for some kind of reaction in the blonde's face. Cecil did not seem worried or bothered. “This is the substance, then?” 

“Yes, this is it. Which apartment is yours?”

Cecil examined the building. He looked at the windows and the door the substance was coming out of. The glass of the windows had been broken from the pressure. “That one.” He pointed to the top left apartment of the building and Carlos nodded. It could have been worse. There was more oozing out of the windows from the apartments on the bottom, maybe some of his furniture and items were still there and unharmed.

Carlos got closer to the substance again. “Stay back and don't touch it.” He ordered and Cecil pouted.

“I want to watch you do science.” He whined. “I never get to watch it.”

Carlos smiled at him. “Don't worry, you're not missing anything. I'm only doing a few minor tests.”

Cecil was not pleased by that answer and Carlos could tell.

“I'll show you something more interesting when we get back to the lab later. I don't want you to fall into this thing.”

The frown on the radio host's face remained.

The scientist sighed. “Fine, just come here beside me.”

Cecil grinned a victorious grin and he quickly hopped to the side of his perfect Carlos. “My pleasure.” They both knelt down. Carlos decided that, since Cecil was there anyway, he might as well show him what he had already figured out, although Cecil would probably be completely unfazed by those discoveries.

“I'm gonna show you something. This is quite interesting, actually. I'm going to try taking a sample.” Cecil watched closely as Carlos tried to take some of the substance and fill it into a test tube. Like many times before, it vanished once it parted from the main mass. Cecil made a noise of amazement and Carlos could not tell whether he was faking it or whether he actually thought this was interesting. “This is a problem for me.” Carlos stated. “I can't test it in my laboratory like this.”

Cecil nodded, understanding the troubles of the scientist. “Maybe if you took more...”

“I've tried that. I tried taking a bucketful, but it all just disappeared.”

“Well, there's your answer, isn't it?” Cecil tilted his head in confusion. “Just put the whole mass in buckets and make it disappear.”

Carlos shook his head. “If it was as easy as that, then there would not be a problem. But even after taking a bucketful of this, there appeared to be no change in mass. It was like it immediately regenerated or as if the substance that vanished from the bucket reappeared in its original spot.” He sighed. “I have tried using my devices, but they won't work around this thing. Right now it seems to be impossible to find out what this is.” 

“So anything inside of it vanishes?” Cecil wanted to confirm.

“Yes, anything. Plants, animals, inanimate objects... I don't know about people, but the residents of your apartment building are apparently missing. Except for those that were out at the time this happened, like you.” Carlos wrapped an arm around Cecil and squeezed him a little. He was grateful to whatever god might exist that Cecil had not been in his home at the time this had happened. He kissed the blonde's temple and received the response in form of an endearing giggle. That was the most Carlos would do in public. He was not very fond of being close and romantic with Cecil when everybody was around.

It did not make much of a difference, though, since Cecil did not have enough self-control to keep himself from talking about everything on the broadcast and since they were being observed all the time, anyway.

Carlos did a few more minor tests, most of them being the same tests he had already done before. Cecil watched every move of the scientist and made an interested noise or sound every once in a while. When Carlos was done he spoke up again.

“Well, I checked on it and nothing has changed since yesterday. I think that's all I can do for today.” It had taken much less time than anticipated, but Carlos was not complaining. He was not in the mood to become frustrated over this substance and the missing solution. 

“You're already done?” Cecil was surprised and he frowned again. It seemed he had expected much more from science.

“For now. A lot of tests have to be made over time. Patience is needed. I will check on it again tomorrow to see whether there's any change in its condition.” He got up and took Cecil's hand. “I thought it would take longer, too, I thought it might have grown again. But look on the bright side, at least we know it won't swallow the entire city any time soon.”

“That's not the bright side.” Cecil smiled. “At least not the brightest.”

Carlos tilted his head. “Then what is the brightest side in your opinion, Cecil?”

“It's that I have you all to myself way sooner than expected.” He blushed and grinned cheekily.

The scientist smiled warmly. Cecil could be so very cute when he was like that. The radio host had so many different faces, depending on his mood and condition. All these were facets of Cecil Baldwin and they were what made him who he was. “I assume you have thought of things you want to do today, then?”

“Of course!” 

 

~ o O o ~

 

“Of all the things, this is the first thing you want to do?” Carlos looked at Cecil.

“Of course! This is very important, Carlos. And if we don't get to it right away, we might forget again. Now get up. You have to stand when chanting so the air can flow better in and out of your body.” 

Carlos got up from the cough reluctantly. Of all the ideas Cecil had had, of all the things he had rambled about wanting to do, dragging Carlos back to his apartment and teaching him chanting was for some bizarre reason the first. The scientist knew that he was not much of a singer. Chanting, at least Night Vale chanting, seemed to be way harder than singing and he had no idea how to get it right. Sure, that was the reason why Cecil wanted to teach him, but he was not in the mood to embarrass himself in front of the person that still adored him and called him perfect.

For a brief moment he was worried whether Cecil's image of Carlos would shatter when he found out that Carlos was practically tone deaf and unable to chant properly. He worried that Cecil would be disappointed and that he would leave, because he finally realized that Carlos was not perfect, but human. His train of thought was interrupted when Cecil presented a sheet of paper to him. 

“I am a certified chanting tutor.”

Carlos examined the sheet of paper. It seemed formal enough. “When did you get this?”

“Yesterday, I told you I had the paperwork to teach chanting. I had to chant in front of City Council in order to get this.” Cecil smiled proudly. Either he had no shame or he really was an excellent singer and knew it. “So don't worry. You are in good hands.”

“I didn't doubt it for a second.”

Cecil grinned. “Follow my lead.”

And he raised his beautiful warm voice again. Carlos recognized it as the bedtime chant. He could not get over himself, he could not bring himself to join in on the chanting. He knew he would mess up and while he trusted Cecil not to laugh and not to be a jerk about it, he simply refused to show off his nonexistent talent. So instead he kept listening. After about two thirds of the chant, Cecil stopped and looked at Carlos.

“You are not following my lead, Carlos. Don't think I won't notice things like that.” 

“I didn't think so.” Carlos looked away. “I just don't want to chant.”

Cecil tilted his head in confusion, obviously not understanding the scientist's hesitation. Why would perfect Carlos not raise his perfect voice to chant? “Why not? It's fun once you get into it, I promise.”

“I don't doubt that. But I simply don't think I can do it. I can't sing, Cecil. You don't want to hear me try, believe me. And this chanting sounds nearly impossible for me to do.”

Cecil looked at Carlos. Perfect Carlos having unreasonable worries. “That's why I'm here, sweet Carlos. I'm here to teach you to do it. I grew up here, I learned it when I was very young, like everyone else. You didn't, but you have to know it. I don't care whether it will take all day, you will learn it. I know you will.” He held the scientist's hand firmly and smiled at him. “Let's start slowly.”

Carlos smiled back and made a small nod, but he still doubted his own abilities. Not even the best tutor would help, not even someone like Cecil could teach him this. You can have a bird explain flying to a fish, but that does not mean that the fish will fly. This is a metaphorical example of course, although it would not be surprising for something like that to happen in Night Vale.

“Okay then, start with the basic tone.” Cecil hummed a tone, waiting for Carlos to join in, which he did, reluctantly. It took Carlos some searching and exploring with his voice to find it, but eventually he did. If every tone took this long it was going to be a very long chanting lesson.

“Good!” Cecil praised. “That is the basic tone, you have to keep it going at all times. If it's too difficult for you to keep it all the time in the beginning, add it when you chant a little better. Okay now the whole chant is built on that note. Meaning all melodies and voices are evolving around it.” Cecil took a deep breath.

“Wait.”

“Hm?” 

“What words should I chant? Your words seem so strange and unfamiliar, I don't even know what they mean.”

Cecil smiled. “Every chant is personal and special, Carlos. It's not like moaning. In chanting you learn the melody and the tones and you simply say what feels right. No matter what that is, no matter what language it is and no matter whether what you are saying are actual words. You will know what to chant of as you learn the melody. You will feel it and hear it.”

“I don't think so, I'm not good with music.” Carlos admitted bluntly.

“That doesn't matter. This is your personal chant. You can modify it and change it until it feels right. Many people are able to make up chants on the spot and do different ones, depending on how they feel. Of course, they sound the same based on melody and notes, but they have different meanings.”

“What does yours mean?”

Cecil smirked. “I won't tell.” He chuckled. “For now, try not to care about words, just try to get the melody and layers of tones right, okay?”

“I'll try.”

It became more and more obvious to Carlos that Cecil's vocal chords worked differently than his own. They appeared to be more advanced, capable of more and held a broader variety of tones and sounds. Carlos did his best to sound like Cecil did. They repeated bits of the chant over and over again until Cecil deemed Carlos was close enough and then they repeated the whole chant multiple times, as well. The scientist felt like it was pointless, that he would never get it right. 

But even a scientist could be proven wrong.

It took a very long time, hours, even, but he had it. It was still not as nice as Cecil's chant, but Carlos was doing it as good as his vocal chords and throat allowed him to. And he suddenly realized what Cecil had been talking about. He could feel words coming to him. Words that he could sing, words that made absolutely no logical sense. They were words that were alien and familiar to him at the same time. And Cecil knew and he asked Carlos to chant on his own and Carlos did.

“Perfect.” Cecil said, happiness in his eyes. “A perfect chant from a perfect Carlos.”

“Heh. It doesn't sound anywhere near as amazing as when you do it.” Carlos ran a hand through his brown locks as he blushed ever so slightly. 

“What does it mean? What do you chant about?” Cecil was nearly jumping on the spot in excitement and eagerness to find out what Carlos' chant was about.

“I won't tell.” The scientist winked at his guest who pouted playfully in response.

Carlos made that pout disappear with a kiss. Cecil kissed back and for a moment time truly did stand still. Or that is what it felt like. Carlos pulled away softly and with a sincere smile.

“And now to the morning chant.” Cecil declared.

A sigh echoed through the apartment.

 

~ o O o ~

 

After chanting practice was finally over after several hours of agonizing tone deaf humming and eventual improvement Cecil had a hard time deciding on what to do next. He wanted to cherish this day, a full day he had with his Carlos and he wanted to use every minute of it to its fullest. This led to him wasting time by running in circles, debating on what would be the best course of action.

Carlos had sat on the couch, leaving Cecil to it. But after a while it felt like Cecil was too concerned about small details. “Cecil.”

“Yes?” Cecil yelped.

“This is most likely not the last day we'll spend together. Stop worrying so much about what makes the most sense and simply decide on something that you think will be fun. We can still do everything else you want to do some other time.” Carlos pulled Cecil onto the couch beside him before wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close enough so that his head was resting on his shoulder. 

“But I don't want to make any regretful choice. You might not like what I pick. I want you to have a good time.”

“Silly Cecil.” Carlos said and chuckled. “You're with me, right? How am I supposed to not have a good time as long as you're there?” 

Cecil's cheeks were burning hot.

“Let's do whatever comes to your mind next.”

“Are you sure you want to do _that_?” Cecil smirked.

“Let's do whatever comes to your mind next that works with my plan of taking things slow.”

Cecil sighed, but the smile did not vanish from his beautiful lips. “I want to know more about you.” 

“Hm?” That was surprising. Carlos had expected a suggestion like going somewhere. “You want to know more about me? Just ask the Sheriff's Secret Police for footage of my home.” Carlos joked.

“I don't mean like that.” Cecil shook his head. “I mean I want to ask you questions and I want to hear your answers. That works perfectly with your plan, doesn't it?” He smiled sweetly.

“It does.” Carlos nodded. “And I'd like to know more about you, too. How about we go to that cozy coffee shop and we talk? We can talk about whatever you want, you can ask me anything.”

They took off minutes later.

 

~ o O o ~

They did not stay at the coffee shop. They got coffee to go and walked with the cups outside. Cecil asked whether Carlos had ever been to Grove Park, Carlos had explained that he had been there for research purposes, but that was it. So they went to Grove Park, holding hands, their fingers interlaced.

“Why did you come to Night Vale?” Cecil broke the silence and asked.

“There had been rumors about strange happenings that seemed impossible in many regards. Some of my colleagues, respected scientists in their fields, started to believe in paranormal beings and supernatural occurrences. Being a man of science, myself, I could not stand them starting to believe in such seemingly ridiculous things. Besides, I was interested in this city and its behavior, anyway. So after much discussion and paperwork, I managed to move here.” Carlos smiled. “You've lived in Night Vale all your life, haven't you?”

Cecil nodded. “I was born and raised here and have been here ever since, except, of course, for my holidays in Europe.”

Carlos vaguely remembered Cecil talking about his trip to Europe in one of his broadcasts. Somehow, the names of the countries had been extremely unfamiliar and had seemed wrong. “Right, I remember. I've been meaning to go to Europe actually.”

“Really? Maybe you could take me with you.” Cecil smiled.

“Certainly. Europe has a lot of cities that contribute a lot to science. Most of them contribute to their own country, but of course, it's important for scientists and science everywhere that there are contributions. In Germany cities can even receive the title “Science City” or “City of Science”, the latter being an award. It would be nice to find foreign colleagues.” Carlos realized he was blabbering on about scientific things again while he had originally hoped to get to know Cecil better. “So you went to the schools and colleges here, right? You were probably very popular.” Cecil was good looking and a nice person, that usually added up to popularity in school.

Cecil chuckled. “Well, I wasn't _that_ popular. I had some good friends and I got along well with most people. I was lucky. High School was not as much as a drag for me as it was for other people. I had my internship at the radio station and whenever school was annoying me, I was simply focusing on being a good intern.”

“You actually were an intern there? And you survived?” Carlos questioned. It had seemed to him that dying in some horrible way was the standard way to finish one's internship at that station.

“Of course. My time as an intern played a major role when I applied for a job during and after college. After college I finally got my own show, which I've been doing ever since. And most of the time station management doesn't make any sounds, so I think they are pleased with what I'm doing.” The blonde smiled and drank some of his coffee. 

“So you've always known that you were going to be a radio host, huh?” Carlos looked around in the park. He wondered about Cecil's determination for his career.

“Naturally. I was an ordinary child, having made my career choice when I was ten. You know, ten used to be considered a late age to make a proper career choice, but the unwritten rules of society for that became a little softer. I hear nowadays it's acceptable to wait until one is eleven, even.” Cecil looked up at Carlos. “Does it surprise you? Did you take longer?” Cecil could not imagine perfect Carlos being tardy with his choice.”

“Not really, I guess. Where I'm from children don't have to know what they want to do until they are legally an adult, actually. And even then a lot of people still don't know.” If he was completely honest, Carlos knew of no other place than Night Vale where children were forced to choose. “But science has always interested me and I have always been very focused on my studies, so it was a given that I became a scientist. My siblings had more trouble figuring out their future.”

“You have siblings?” Cecil perked up. Carlos was surprised that he had never told Cecil a word about his family. Then again, Carlos did not share much about him with many people. He preferred keeping his matters to himself. But Cecil was hardly an outsider anymore. If his family was there he would already be considered to be a part of it. 

“Yes. I have one older brother and one older sister. My brother decided to become a mechanic. He writes stories as a hobby and my sister... I don't really know what she does nowadays. I lost contact with her quite a while ago. I've never gotten along with her for some reason.” Carlos shrugged, he was no really affected by it. Maybe the age difference between them was too big. “What about you, got any brothers or sisters?”

“No.” Cecil shook his head with a mildly sad expression. “I am an only child. I wanted to have a sibling, but I stayed alone.”

“I'm sorry to hear that.” Carlos' voice showed compassion and sympathy. He squeezed Cecil's hand.

“There's no need to be. I wasn't that lonely as a child. As I told you I had good friends, actually. So it was fine.”

Carlos would usually argue that the bond between siblings was not the same as friendship, but he knew that Cecil felt bad about not having a sibling, so he kept quiet. Having friends was great, too, after all, maybe even greater than having a sibling in some situations. “I understand. I'm glad you're not bitter over it or anything.”

There was some silence before Carlos asked some more. “This question has been bothering me for a while now. Did you have a girlfriend or girlfriends?”

“Hm? Why do you ask?” Cecil tilted his head. Talking about possible past relationships was not a thing one usually did in an early stage of a new relationship.

“I simply want to know more about your past and also your sexuality.”

“I don't really understand you, but no, I've not had any girlfriends. I've had boyfriends, though, if you want to know about them. But I would much rather not talk about them.” 

Carlos understood. Homosexuality, heterosexuality or anything else were no matter of discussion in Night Vale. It was not even something anyone thought about. People simply liked whom they liked, apparently. Carlos wished more cities were like Night Vale in that regard. More countries, even. “No, it's okay, forget about it. I don't want to talk about them, either.”

They continued walking, hand in hand, for some time. Cecil managed to distract Carlos from the occasionally oddity that they passed with his warm and hypnotically beautiful voice. They talked so much and all the worries that might have been about not knowing what to say, about awkward silence, were pointless. They talked until only half the coffee was gone and the other half was cold. And while neither of them wanted to waste perfectly good coffee, drinking it felt like a challenge they were not willing to take. So they tossed it into a trash can

They began talking about lighter things. Neither of them were being serious anymore. They joked and chuckled and laughed. Cecil slipped in the occasional entertaining piece of gossip about one of their fellow citizens in Night Vale. They did not even stop when the bush beside them seemingly started to laugh at their conversation, but they knew full-well that it was only an officer of the Sheriff's Secret Police, as usual.

They got closer to exiting the park and Carlos felt compelled to correct his mistake from one day prior. When he wanted to ask Cecil a very important question, but ended up asking about food instead. They were having a great time and Carlos could finally imagine it. He could see many days like this and many nights sharing a bed. He could imagine spending his life with the man beside him, he could imagine shouting love from the rooftops, just like Cecil had done the day they met. He wanted to go and sign the forms and make Cecil his boyfriend in all, and Carlos meant _all_ regards.

So he stopped walking, his hand still holding Cecil's, who turned to Carlos with a confused expression. “Carlos, is everything alright? Did I offend you?” He seemed worried.

“No, of course not.” He reached out for Cecil's other hand, as well, and pulled him a bit closer once Cecil let him. “There's something that I have to say now. Well, it's more of a question, really, but I think you will see that it also means something that I don't request of you, but that is solely a statement about myself.”

“What is it?” The shining light returned to Cecil's eyes. Carlos looked into them and it was as if he found the starry sky, as if he saw galaxies, universes and he smiled with the deepest feeling of fondness. 

“Yesterday when I asked you what you wanted to eat for dinner... I wasn't planning on asking you that. It slipped out. I wanted to say something, else, actually.” Carlos thought about how to word this.

“Yes?”

And then something came to his mind. He was asking Cecil to be his boyfriend. Night Vale was a town of paperwork and rituals, of traditions and weird customs. He knew Cecil wanted to be the one to be asked out like this. The blonde wanted nothing more than for Carlos to finally embrace him into his life completely. But if Carlos messed this up, all sorts of things, bad things, could happen to both of them. Maybe there was a ceremonial chant he had to know to serenade Cecil before doing this. He hoped to any possible almighty entity that that was not the case. But either way he had to know first. He had to know how Night Vale citizens were supposed to do this, to make the best of it and to make it the most pleasant for Cecil. He did not have the facts and knowledge at hand. He hated to do it, but he had to lie. “I wanted to ask you what you wanted to eat _today_.”

Carlos assumed that Cecil saw right through this lie. But maybe, just maybe, he would let him get away with it. “I see.” The radio host responded. There was that disappointment again. But it vanished more quickly this time. “Food choices are _really_ important to you.”

“Well.. you are what you eat, right?” Carlos laughed nervously, he had absolutely and utterly ruined the day and the mood. 

Cecil seemed surprised. “You know about that incident?”

“Eh?” Carlos shook his head. “No?” He suddenly became very curious. “What incident?”

“Why don't I tell you about it on the way to your home?” 

 

~ o O o ~

 

They had spent hours of talking and walking and joking around, but neither of them regretted spending that much time on it. Neither of them wished that they had done something else or more. After arriving at Carlos' apartment Cecil had begun cooking a late lunch for both of them. He had said that he would have to go to the station later, but there was plenty of time before he had to go.

They took the food to the living room once it was done. Carlos decided to think of it as some kind of lasagna which contents were not to be questioned. Cecil did not say what it was he simply referred to it as 'the food' or 'the meal' or any similar synonym whenever he mentioned it.

They sat on the couch side by side, leaning onto each other and watching television. Cecil had panicked about that not being exciting enough for Carlos, so the scientist had to reassure him that he would enjoy it. And he did. It was not much, it was not special. But he enjoyed it much more than a lot of other possibilities.

After starting to watch an episode of a documentary about mountains, which was practically the sentences 'Mountains are not real. Everything you have ever heard about mountains is false.' on repeat for half an hour, they switched to a Science-Fiction move, Carlos said he had seen at the movie theater during his college years. He said it was really good. Carlos also said that the sentences in the mountain documentary were contradictory, since knowing that mountains do not exist is technically knowledge about mountains and if it was wrong, mountains would be real. Cecil had smiled and told Carlos not to say that too loud before eating more food.

It turned out that the city of Night Vale had cut quite some footage out of the Sci-Fi movie, completely alternating the storyline and universe it was playing it. Carlos noticed this, of course, and told Cecil that they would have to watch the original together some time. He was sure he could get a copy of it somewhere. Cecil blushed and snuggled closer to Carlos, agreeing happily.

 

~ o O o ~

Some time later, after bringing the empty plates to the kitchen and, of course, much more cuddling and some more mindless TV (with occasional comments from a certain scientist about how things were illogical or ridiculous), Cecil looked at the Night Vale clock in the room with a deep sigh. “I don't wanna go.” He muttered. He held onto Carlos' shirt. 

Carlos looked at the clock, as well, noticing that it was, indeed, time for Cecil to go to the station. “I thought you liked your job.” He had his hand on Cecil's shoulder and stroked it softly with his thumb. 

“I do. I really do. But I also like you and staying with you.” He sighed. “I wish I could just call in sick, like they always do in movies to spend more time with you.”

Carlos wondered. It sounded like it was literally impossible for Cecil to do it. “Aside from that being morally wrong, why don't you?”

“Don't be silly.” Cecil smiled. “If I called in sick, I would get sick, obviously. And then I'd have to avoid passing whatever I'd get onto you.” He sat up straight and stretched. “I can't believe we spent so much time doing nothing. Television is a dangerous thing. I prefer the radio, any day.”

The scientist chuckled and sat up, as well. “I would be surprised if you didn't.” He kissed Cecil.

Cecil was surprised by the sudden affectionate gesture, but he kissed back gladly. They pulled away. “I have to go now or I'll be late. The last person to be late to the station mysteriously vanished and was found three weeks later just outside the dog park.”

“Were they alive?”

“Of course not.” 

“You should probably go now, then.” Carlos said and Cecil did so. He got up, got ready to leave and stood at the front door. “Come back fast.” The brown haired main requested as he observed Cecil.

“I wouldn't stay longer than necessary under any circumstances.”

 

~ o O o ~

 

As soon as Carlos heard the sound of Cecil's car leaving outside he started to research Night Vale customs with his laptop as well as with a book he had gotten from the library. The book caused him quite a bit of trouble, not only because it was a book, but also because it was the library.

He searched for some time after turning on the radio so he would not miss the broadcast. 

He smiled subconsciously when he heard Cecil's voice appear with some bizarre statement as usual.

As he listened to the soothing voice discuss the latest news and incidents that happened around town, as well as his love life, of course, Carlos found customs about asking one to be in a relationship. He discovered that in some situations proper courting had to be done. Some of the customs resembled those used centuries ago in the world outside of Night Vale, others were completely original.

Carlos found an entire page about rules for new residents or outsiders of Night Vale, someone like Carlos himself. Rules that said how to behave properly if one were to develop feelings of fondness for a longtime Night Vale citizen, like Cecil. Rules that Carlos had apparently broken several times. But no one had said anything, especially not Cecil so it appeared to be alright. Carlos reminded himself that the book had been written a few decades ago and it appeared that there had not been any changes or modifications.

Carlos sighed in relief. If it was like that then he did not have to do much in order for Cecil to be happy. He could just ask casually like he had planned. Some of the suggestions given in the book were somewhere in between forced persuasion and straight down mind control.

The scientist leaned back and smiled at the radio as he listened. He was going to ask him out. Whenever he got back from the station. Carlos promised himself he was not going to be socially awkward about it. No slipping up, no stuttering, no mistakes. 

_“And in other news, I have been informed that a black substance has started oozing out of another radio booth at the station.”_

Carlos perked up, he stared at the radio with wide eyes.

_“It is currently leaking into the hallway. I am not sure what to do, listeners. I would like to put as much distance between me and the goo as possible, since my sweet Carlos told me not to touch it, but as your professional radio host, I will keep the broadcast up and keep you updated on how it is slowly but steadily flooding the station. I have just received word that Old Woman Josie, out near the car lot, ...”_

Carlos' mind froze. Everything became completely still. He felt his heart beat rapidly in his chest. This was terrible. Cecil. Cecil was in danger. Cecil was in danger and he knew. He sounded terrified on the radio, even though he had tried to hide it. 

When he found himself able to move again, Carlos began looking for his cellphone frantically as he struggled to put on his lab coat and shoes. He searched in the bedroom, but it was not there. He walked through the living room.

_“... or so the Angels say. However, we all know that...”_

He searched in the kitchen and bathroom, but to no avail. He got back to the living room, only to see it sitting on the coffee table, mocking him with its obvious presence.

_“... so don't worry about it, Ladies and Gentlemen. An update on the black goo: Station management has made unbearable and unidentified noises that everyone here decided meant that we should proceed as usual. Intern Sandra gave me a note. Apparently the substance has grown to fill one entire booth and half of the hallway. Intern Sandra is requesting to stay in this room until she can exit through the hallway again or find a way to climb out of the window. I nodded at her and she proceeded to sit in the corner in an acute state of paranoia...”_

“What?” Calos yelled in his apartment. How could anyone let their employees work under these conditions and endanger their lives? Carlos ran out to his car, not bothering to lock his apartment. He quickly turned on the engine and the car radio. He got out of the parking lot and started driving to the radio station. He did not know what he would do, yet, but he had to do something.

_“...has stopped growing, but is now pulsating. This behavior is similar to the one of the substance at the apartment building. Listeners, something has emerged from the substance moments ago! It appears to be some kind of electronic device. There's more. Some objects... and a plant. It seems to be an ordinary fern in a blue flower pot...”_

Carlos blinked. An electronic device? A plant? Could it be that...

_“Some of the Sheriff's Secret Police emerged from the substance! They all seem terrified and sadly, none of them appear to be in the psychological condition to be interviewed as of now. ...”_

Yes, there was no doubt. Carlos dialed Cecil's number.

_“...They are all groaning and muttering dark- Oh, Carlos is calling. I believe that at a time like this it is appropriate to let our local scientist explain this incident, if he can. Yes, Carlos?”_

“Cecil!” Carlos yelled. “Get everyone, including yourself, out of there, right now!”

_“Carlos, I'm still broadcasting, I can't-”_

“It doesn't matter, you have to! Or you will all die. In a moment everything, all the furniture, all the objects, absolutely everything that the goo at your apartment swallowed will emerge, broken glass, whole chunks of walls, everyone at the station will be crushed momentarily!”

Cecil's voice vanished from the radio. 

“Cecil? Cecil!”

_“I-I'm here. A-a dog emerged a moment ago and...”_

“Save yourself this instant!” 

Carlos arrived at the building of the station moments later. He got out of the car immediately. He saw some of the employees leaving the station, some of them more carefree than others. Cecil was not among them.

“Cecil, get out-”

There was a loud crashing noise. Many of the windows and door had broken. Carlos held his arm in front of his head and turned his face away to protect himself from the shards of glass. Broken wood, chunks of wall, disfigured furniture and more were pressed out of the building through the windows. They crashed to the ground from the windows of the higher floors.

“Cecil! Cecil, are you alright? Answer me! Cecil!” Carlos yelled. This could not be happening. This had to be unreal. His imagination was playing bad, terrifying pranks on him. Right? He felt tears form in his eyes as he looked at the building. Cecil was nowhere to be seen. He had not made it. He did not listen to Carlos and he did not leave the building in time. He was buried underneath broken furniture and various chunks of different materials. 

Carlos fell to his knees. He ended the call.

 

~ o O o ~

 

Carlos could not breathe, he could not get up. All of his senses were numb.

“Carlos?”

Until a painfully familiar voice tore him out of this condition.

“Carlos, are you okay?”

Carlos could not turn and look up at the source of the voice. He did not want to realize that he was hearing someone who was no longer there.

“Carlooos?” He felt a hand on his shoulder and heard someone kneel down beside him. He finally managed to whip his head around and stare at the man who was talking to him with that smooth and pleasant voice of his.

“Cecil... you're alive?” Or was he maybe just an illusion, a figment of Carlos' imagination, something his mind was projecting, because he did not want the truth to be true.

“Of course, I'm alive.” The possible figment looked at the damaged building. “Thanks to you. I listened to your warning. I tried to take the portable substitute microphone with me, but it did not work. And as if that was not enough the battery of my phone died.”

Carlos sat up. He stared at Cecil and then he pulled the blonde into a tight hug. “Don't scare me like that. Don't do this to me... I thought you were...”

“I'm sorry.” Cecil hugged back. “A number of people are probably gone now, though. … I don't see Sandra around. She will be missed.” Cecil was about to let go off Carlos, but the taller man gripped him more tightly and pulled him closer. “I'm glad, you're here, too.” Cecil muttered.

 

~ o O o ~

Cecil drove them both back to Carlos' apartment in Carlos' car. He said he would pick up his own at the station some time in the future. Carlos was in the passenger seat, watching Cecil. He was not wounded in any way, he had gotten out in time. Carlos closed his eyes. The feeling of losing Cecil had been the worst thing he had ever felt, it had been overwhelming and Carlos had never been that scared in his entire life. So actually driving home with him felt surreal. 

“So... do you want to check on the goo at my apartment before we go to your place? Maybe I could spend the night at my home, already.”

Carlos shook his head lightly. “No, let's just head back. I wouldn't let you sleep anywhere other than my home tonight, anyway.”

Cecil blushed and smiled. 

They reached the apartment very quickly and got inside. They locked the door. “Cecil...”

“Yes?” The blonde looked at his exhausted scientist. 

“Can we sit down together for a moment?” Carlos asked, already strolling towards the couch after taking off his shoes. 

“Sure.” Cecil did the same. They sat down side by side. 

Carlos turned to Cecil. He took both of the radio host's hands and kissed him softly and shortly. “I have to ask you something. And it's really important this time.”

“How can you be hungry after everything that has happened?” Cecil asked, intending no harm, but being honestly curious.

“No, it's not about food. It's what I've been trying to tell you the other two times I approached you like this. And I mean what I was really trying to tell you. I was not that serious about food, actually.” Carlos looked down.

“What is it, Carlos?”

The scientist looked back up again and he found stars and moons and galaxies in Cecil's eyes again. He could have gotten lost in them, those beautiful strange eyes. “Cecil. Of all the people I have ever really known in my life you are probably the one standing out the most. And I mean that in the best way. I can't even tell whether you are faking your interest in my scientific discoveries or whether you are genuinely curious about them, but either way I appreciate it more than the yawns and bored expressions I sometimes get.”

Cecil snickered and Carlos smiled.

“I know very well that you've been waiting for this. And I hope you can understand that I made you wait so long simply because I didn't want to rush into anything and in the end cause both of us pain. But anyway.... C-Cecil, I was wondering whether you... would maybe in every possible way, in public, on papers and everywhere... be my... well...”

Cecil stared at him with wide eyes and a grin. “Boyfriend?”

“Y-yeah, that.” His heartfelt confession did not pan out quite the way he wanted it too, but at least he got it over with.

“Of course, I want to be your boyfriend, Carlos. Duuuh.” He leaned over and kissed the scientist deeply and hungrily. He was met with unexpected eagerness.

Carlos leaned into the passionate kiss. He had been wanting it, craving it, but he had his principles and he stuck to them like glue. They kissed again and again. Cecil's fingers were in Carlos' soft and perfect locks of hair, Carlos' were on Cecil's waist and back holding him tightly and holding him close. He never wanted to let go. He never wanted to lose him. His was scared of losing him. 

Carlos did not feel Cecil's hands sneak down to his shoulders, but he realized that his lab coat was being pulled off his body and he gave Cecil a hand with removing it. The scientist then began to move further onto the couch. He softly shoved Cecil's shoulders down until the blonde's back met the couch's surface. Carlos pulled away and he took Cecil's glasses and his own off and put them to the side, they got in the way of kissing. “I love you...” The radio host muttered with his warm voice.

The scientist looked down at Cecil, hesitating. But eventually his gaze became soft. “I love you, too.” He kissed Cecil's lips briefly. “I really do.” Carlos caught himself unbuttoning the blonde's shirt. Buttons had never seemed like such a hassle. Pesky buttons, every last one of them. Cecil pulled Calos' head down to let their lips meet again. Carlos finally exposed the chest of Cecil who had begun working on Carlos' buttons and was considering them to be just as annoying as his own.

Carlos pulled away again to look at Cecil's exposed skin. There were tattoos on his chest. Or at least that was what they should be. They looked similar to tentacles and there were definitely pictures shaped like eyes in between them. Blinking eyes. Also tattoos. The tentacles seemingly squirmed as they were exposed and curled up. The eyes were blinking every now and then and they were following Carlos, seemingly observing him. “Fascinating...” The scientist muttered.

“Is it?” Cecil smiled and questioned. 

“Everything about you is.” Carlos kissed Cecil's neck softly. 

He looked up from Cecil's body underneath him again and it was then that he saw a shadow of a person outside again. Suddenly he felt a little uncomfortable. He peeked around the room, trying to find so-called surveillance cameras or the bugs that were placed in every apartment. He did not want surveillance instances to hear or see any of this. He did not want anyone else to see Cecil like this, his gorgeous, kind boyfriend. Cecil was his now. 

And Carlos realized that everything that had happened, all the worry that had been in his mind, had worn him out. He was tired already. The events had brought him close enough to Cecil to get this far, but he wanted his first time with his boyfriend be everything both of them wanted it to be. And for the sake of that, Carlos decided it was better to wait. Only one more day.

“Is something the matter?” 

Carlos sighed and got off of Cecil and sat beside him, much to Cecil's disappointment. “No. I am just... I'm really exhausted and I don't think we should do this tonight. Don't get me wrong, I really want to, but I also want both of us to enjoy it as much as possible.”

Cecil sat up with a sigh. “It's alright. I can wait.” He had waited for quite some time, already, but he was no horny teenager that could not wait another day or two. Neither Carlos or him were controlled by their hormones, like some sixteen-year-old boys were. Cecil was overjoyed with finally being Carlos' boyfriend, so drawing the line at making out and cuddling was alright.

Carlos kissed him. “I'll make it up to you very much tomorrow. I promise.”

Cecil's lips formed a smirk. “I have no doubts that you will. So, I guess you want to go to bed right away?”

“I think that would be best, yes. And if you don't mind, tonight I'd like it to be the _same_ bed.”

The radio host blushed an even deeper shade than the one already on his face. “I'd love to.”

 

~ o O o ~

After getting ready for bed _together_ and chanting _together_ , they laid down in Carlos' bed in his bedroom _together_.

They laid close together, their legs tangled with one another's. Carlos was holding Cecil to his chest so that Cecil could hear the taller man's heartbeat again. He stroked Cecil's body and occasionally kissed his forehead or the top of his head, which usually made Cecil let out a very pleased noise. 

Carlos had confessed that he loved Cecil. The scientist thought about this. He had not even realized how deeply he had fallen for the Voice of Night Vale. He did not remember when or how it happened, he only knew that it had at some point and that it was more than only a good thing, it was great, superb, excellent, amazing... that and every word Cecil would use to describe his boyfriend.

Cecil loved Carlos and Carlos loved Cecil.

What a strange and beautiful world they lived in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this turned out... quite long, much longer than expected.
> 
> I thought about splitting it in the middle and making it two chapters after having written it, but then I decided that it's put in nice little portions anyway (with the ~ o O o ~) and I didn't want to break my one-day-per-chapter pattern, so I kept it in one piece.
> 
>  
> 
> Comments are appreciated, as always!


	4. Destruction and Kisses

Carlos awoke after a very peaceful slumber.

When he blinked his eyes open, to dip his gaze into the light of a new day the first sight he was met with was a pair of two incredibly dark, yet shining, eyes staring at him. 

For a moment Carlos was about to complain about Cecil having sneaked into his bed again, but then he recalled the events of the previous day and instead he simply made a happy smile. “Hey... Good morning, my sweet boyfriend.” He whispered quietly. Cecil seemed delighted and smiled brightly.

“Good morning.” 

Carlos stroked his boyfriend's cheek softly. “How did you sleep?” He leaned his forehead against Cecil's.

“I don't think I have ever slept better before...” He made a content smile and they kissed.

Carlos sighed, not wanting to leave the bed. He thought about staying inside of it with Cecil all day long. But they had to check on the results of recent events. They were obligated to get up. “I suppose it's time for the daily morning chanting?”

“I think it can wait another minute or two.” Cecil was in the mood to snuggle again, so he scooted closer to his scientist. “We can chant all day after getting up...”

“Let's not do that.”

 

~ o O o ~

 

After a normal morning of chanting, breakfast and sweet kisses and nuzzles, Cecil was forced to go to the station and check on it, seeing as he had to keep up his daily broadcasts, no matter what, and he possibly had to find a substitute for the usual station. Carlos joined him and insisted they'd take a detour so that they could check on the apartment building.

All the substance on and around it had vanished without a trace. The only remains of the incident were the countless broken objects, windows and the empty apartments. And the demolition station, of course. 

“Carlos, what do you deduce happened? Yesterday, you seemed to know what would happen when you called me.” Cecil suddenly asked as he turned a corner. He was driving them.

“Well, it's not much of a deduction anymore, if you know all of the key elements. I don't think that it's even worth talking about.”

“Humor me.” Cecil smiled.

“Alright.” Carlos smiled, as well, happy with the interest and curiosity he felt from Cecil. “I found out when you said that an electronic device and a plant emerged from the substance in your radio station. I let those things sink into the substance the day before to test the vanishing habit. I realized the possibility that things that were inside the substance at your apartment came out at the radio station later. I had assumed that the Sheriff's Secret Police had vanished into the substance, too, seeing as they were there one day, eager to keep people from the scene, but they were completely gone the next day. When I heard that they appeared it confirmed my suspicion of them vanishing as well as the suspicion of things that disappeared inside the substance at the apartment building, reappearing at the station. But in reverse order. Nothing must have gone in after the electronic device I tested with, so it was the first thing to come out again.”

Carlos continued. “I realized that if everything came out again, the furniture, the vehicles, all of it, would, too. And given the little time to remove the objects and the force it would probably come out of the substance with it was no longer safe. The Sheriff's Secret Police had entered the goo not long after it first appeared, but there were several hours in between them entering the goo and me putting in the plant, so the things emerged one after another, with no regard to when they entered, except for the order.”

Cecil nodded every once in a while to show he was listening.

“When you talked about the dog, I feared it was too late, already. So all in all the goo must have worked like some sort of transporter. I'm assuming that it grew in the beginning because it was swallowing so much. And I believe that the pulsating was a sign to show that it was about full. What I'm still wondering about is where everything went in the time between vanishing and emerging. Judging by the condition the people had that came out of the substance again, I'm assuming that it was probably some kind of terrifying room-like place. At first I thought maybe it was simply underground, but there is no was that there could a a tunnel of this substance to the station, since it randomly appeared in a booth. I hope I can talk to one of the officers once they have recovered from their trauma. What's for sure is that it is some location with limited space, if my theory about the pulse is correct, at least. In that case the space would have been filled up until nothing else fit and then everything emerged in the logical way of emptying something. What's on top goes first.” Carlos leaned back in his seat.

He looked at Cecil. “One thing still confuses me though, beside the usual question of why it was there in the first place.”

“What's that?”

“I'm wondering how it chose its location. It appeared at your apartment and then your workplace. I have been wondering whether there's maybe some kind of connection to you. I am a little worried, actually. If someone made this, maybe they are after your life. I can't leave you be like this if I know that someone might be waiting for the next opportunity to harm you. I feel the need to make sure you're safe. You almost died at the station...” Carlos' voice became dull and sad for a moment.

Cecil held back a smirk. “Well, my apartment is still empty, all the furniture and objects still have to be sorted and partially replaced. It will probably take some time until it's safe to live in the apartments again or at least until one of the former or not former residents has enough belongings lead a proper life there. So you're worried, I need a place to stay and you still need to make something up to me, thanks to last night.” He let his smirk appear. “What should we do about that?”

Carlos chuckled warmly. “I have no choice, do I?”

Cecil faked a pout. “How could you say something like that? Am I that much of a nuisance? Carlos, how can you say things like that to your boyfriend?”

The scientist blushed when hearing that word. 

 

~ o O o ~

 

Both of them, probably like many others, had hoped that the damage at the station has seemed worse in the dark than it actually was. They were all disappointed to find out that it was quite the opposite. The damage was much worse. Not only the windows, but the window frames and the wall around them were severely broken and partially removed due to the pressure of the objects. Far more walls were broken than expected and the station was filled with what once was furniture and personal belongings, but was now not recognizable as something other than trash.

“Oh, geez...” Cecil muttered. Several others were gathered around, as well. Some people and creatures were already starting to move the rubble out of the way. “This is gonna take a while. I suppose we'll call the the rest of the station staff to help out.”

Carlos nodded in agreement.

“I guess I'll have to be here all day.” Cecil looked at Carlos with a sigh. “I'm sorry about that... I'll meet you at your place tonight?”

“What are you saying?” Carlos began shoving up the sleeves of his lab coat to his elbows. “Don't you want me to help?”

Cecil smiled brightly. “O-of course I do! I just... didn't think... well, I thought maybe you were too busy.”

“Cecil, I'm an independent scientist. I'm my own boss. And if I wanna move around trash for a day, then I'm going to move around trash for a day. Besides, it's not proven that the substance here has vanished and I'm dying to find out more about its properties and origin.” Carlos was wearing an almost goofy smile as he spoke.

Cecil smiled. He wrapped his arms around Carlos and kissed him. Carlos responded by leaning into Cecil and kissing back. Carlos pulled away. “I love you very much, Cecil.”

“ I love you very much, too, perfect Carlos.”

What a strange and beautiful world, indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are still a thing that's appreciated ;D
> 
> Thank you for reading this short story and for all the kudos and the reviews! 
> 
> The next story awaits me~
> 
> ~artisticNutcase


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